Ricky Ponting, the two-time World Cup winning captain, is regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time. He is only second to Sachin Tendulkar in the top run scorers in Tests with 13,378 runs, and third in the ODI list with 13,704 runs, behind Kumar Sangakkara and Tendulkar.
But the likes of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are slowly closing-in the records held by Ponting and Tendulkar.
The present Indian captain Kohli has performed brilliantly in all three formats so far, and is well and truly on his way to highest run-getter’s spot in all forms of the game.
Here’s a look at how much ground the Australian covered until the stage at which Kohli has reached in his career.
Record as Number 3 in ODIs
Ricky Ponting batted in the crucial number three position in ODIs for the most part of his career. And he did a great job in setting up the platform for the middle order batsmen to come out and take Australia to a big score.
Virat Kohli, who has recorded a much better batting average than Ponting in the matches that he has played so far, is just four centuries behind Ponting’s tally of 29.
After 63 Tests
As far as direct comparison between the two players after 63 Tests is concerned, Kohli has trumped Ponting in three very important parameters.
Kohli has scored 1,022 more runs than Ponting in the same amount of Test matches. The Delhi batsman has also notched six more hundreds than the Australian, and has a better average.
After 32 Tests as Captain
Virat Kohli has always said that leadership has inspired him to play better in every match. And even Ponting was a captain who liked to lead from the front.
When it comes to numbers, the duo are neck-and-neck.
Ponting had scored just 248 runs more than Kohli in his first 32 matches as captain. And both the batsmen have recorded the same number of centuries.
After 202 ODIs
But in the one-day format, Kohli is far ahead than Ponting at this stage of his career. The Indian captain has scored more than double the amount of centuries Ponting had scored, and has recorded a much better average.
Kohli also has more half-centuries than Ponting.
Overall Record as ODI Captain
Ricky Ponting is the most successful ODI captain in the world. He has notched the most number of wins as ODI captain ever. Ponting recorded a win percentage of 71.7 in 230 matches.
Kohli is on the right track with a win percentage of 76.7, but he has a task on his hands to ensure his team performs consistently in the upcoming years.
Overall Record as Test Captain
Ricky Ponting is also one of the most successful Test captains ever. He recorded an excellent win percentage of 62.3 in 77 Tests!
Kohli has a great win percentage of 62.5 , but he has been captain for only 32 Tests. It will be a challenge for Kohli to continue to inspire his team to perform consistently.
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