Kohli vs Rohit vs Dhawan: The Fabulous Five years

A good start is half the job done. A perfect top 3 is what every team needs to make a big score. Remember the Australian team of early 2000’s, it had Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden and Ricky Ponting occupying the top 3.

The trio every bowler will fear to bowl at. India is currently enjoying one such period for the past 5 years. Leaving aside red ball cricket, this trio has been outstanding in the shorter formats of the game.

They have literally dominated every bowler who has bowled at them in white ball format and has been the major reason for the current surge in Indian cricket. What makes them the treacherous trio to bowl at is the competition between them.

Although Shikhar Dhawan might look unfitting in this comparison, he has silently made a statement to all those critics who bashed him at his failures with a string of records to his name.

The past 5 years has been a golden period for the trio, by the effect of which India has been the winners of 2013 Champions Trophy and finalists in the 2017 edition, as well as semi-finalists in the 2015 World Cup.

Here’s a comparison of the top 3 that are currently giving nightmares to opposition bowlers:

---

#1 Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan has always lit up ICC tournaments

The left-handed opener hailing from Delhi has slowly raised his stature and it is safe enough to say that he has cemented his place for the 2019 World Cup.

The fact that he has been patchy in Tests cannot be denied, same holds for the fact that he is having a golden run in limited overs format. A surprising and shocking fact is that Dhawan is currently the top run-scorer for India in ODIs 2018, he has 770 runs in 13 innings while Virat Kohli has 749 runs in 9 innings.

Shikhar Dhawan has constantly been among the runs in ICC tournaments since 2013. Fittingly, he was named as the man of ICC tournaments (Courtesy: Becoming the top run-scorer for India in last 3 ICC tournaments 2013CT, 2015WC, 2017CT).

Along with his partner Rohit Sharma, the duo has wreaked havoc on the bowlers with their sheer dominance over them. Shikhar Dhawan holds the record for highest average in multinational tournaments with an astounding average of 65.28.

Let’s believe Gabbar makes it big next year too as he usually does in ICC tournaments.

#2 Rohit Sharma

Rohit has smashed three double centuries

Rohit Sharma is another player who has been hit by a lot of bumps before attaining his current status. He came into the scene in 2007 but the real turn around happened after 6 years when MS Dhoni promoted him to open the batting.

Since then he has hardly failed and has been phenomenal in ODIs. Rohit Sharma has made it a habit of playing big innings result of which he has 3 double centuries to his name.

Like his partner, his Test career looks unsettled and is yet to cement his place but Rohit averages a staggering 58.2 in ODIs since the 2013 Champions Trophy and has scored 17 of his 19 ODI hundreds since then and looks set to continue for the next few years as well.

It would be unfair if we don’t make a statement about his captaincy. Rohit Sharma who has 3 IPL trophies to his name has been quite underrated in the international format. He’s currently leading India in Asia Cup and has made a strong statement on his captaincy skills as men in blue are yet to face a defeat in the tournament.

Hope there’s a lot more to come in the Hit-Man show in coming years.

#3 Virat Kohli

Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsmen in the world now

No-adjective will suit the current phase of Virat Kohli. As the 90’s and 2000’s is termed as Sachin Era, it would be unfair if we don’t call the current era as Kohli era.

The U19 World Cup winning captain has constantly made headlines with his breath-taking knocks in the toughest of situations. The records of Kohli are incredible just like his knocks.

Since 2013, he has scored 5893 runs in ODIs and 22 centuries while it is 3886 runs and 12 centuries in his first 5 years. Kohli has been consistent across all formats, adaptive to any given situation, aggressive in his approach and confident of his talent which has made him reach this height.

As many critics and analytics state, Kohli is already a legend. The current Indian skipper has had bad times but what makes him extraordinary is the way he bounced back from those failures. Mr. Dependable is one big reason why India is a strong contender for WC 2019. Hope he continues his reign and brings back the trophy home.

Having analyzed the top 3 of Indian Batting Line-up, the trio looks settled and dangerous and hope to continue their dominance next year to win the World Cup. If it was Hayden, Gilchrist, and Ponting for Australia in 2007 World Cup, will it be Dhawan, Rohit and Kohli for India in 2019?