Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli has always been a glaring debate in modern cricket. Kohli is the batter with the second-highest centuries scored in international cricket. The star Indian batter is definitely miles ahead in limited-overs cricket. However, Smith is definitely a different beast in Test cricket. He scored his 36th Test hundred in the second Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle.
With this century, the Aussie batter went past Kohli to become the batter with the most away centuries. Smith has amassed 17 centuries in away matches (which does not include neutral venues), while Kohli currently has 17. The Australian stalwart is definitely the best Test batsman of this generation because of the sheer amount of batting average that he has in this format.
Virat Kohli has been nowhere close to Steve Smith in Test cricket in the last five years
On the other hand, the former Indian captain has suffered a decline in form in Test cricket in the last five years. He just has three centuries in Test cricket under his name in the last five years. Kohli has had a forgettable Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and his batting average has plummeted below 47. The rest of the batters in the Fab 4 with the likes of Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Smith have surpassed him in this format in the last few years.
Coming to the match, at the end of Day 2, Smith remained not-out on 120 runs off 239 balls. He has smashed nine boundaries and one six during his innings. Australia have scored 330 runs for the loss of three wickets and have a lead of 73 runs. They are definitely in the driver’s seat, and Smith will look to further push his score. Kohli will need to elevate his game in Test cricket in order to compete with the masterclass that Smith is putting on display for the cricketing world.
