India and New Zealand are set to play three Tests, starting Thursday. Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson will lead India and New Zealand respectively in the series. New Zealand is yet to win a Test series on the Indian soils.
Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson!
The upcoming three-Test series between India and New Zealand will witness the clash between two incredibly talented modern day cricketers.
They have a different approach to the game with Kohli being the aggressive one, but there is determination, passion and grit in both the players that define the elegance of the Gentleman's game.
Here is a comparison between the two and a look at their strangely parallel careers.
Test debut: Williamson > Kohli:
India is surely close to Williamson's heart; it is the country where he made his Test debut. The BlackCaps skipper will walk into the Kanpur Test, starting Thursday, cherishing memories of his first Test where he had announced himself with a superb century.
In a span of six years and having played just 52 Tests, Williamson averages more than 50 in Tests. He has his name in the Top-10 of all the three formats - Tests, ODIs and T20Is - and this is a testimony of him being New Zealand's most significant player at the moment.
While Williamson had three half-centuries and a ton after his first six Tests, Kohli had just two fifties in the same number of games since his debut.
Even when Kohli made his Test debut against a lower-ranked side - West Indies - he did not manage to shine like his competitor did in his first match. He had a slow start to his Test career with some downfalls, contradicting the flying start to his ODI career.
Although he took the time to make a mark in the longest format of the sport, his average is more than 45 from 45 Tests so far. Kohli was, however, quick enough to catch up with Williamson in numbers. He has 12 Test centuries, just two less than his Kiwi counterpart.
Struggling phase:
Every batsman comes to a stage when he struggles to find form. These two were no different. Kohli and Williamson have had their share of forgettable series.
However, what made them the top players they are today is the fact that they did not succumb to that phase and came out as better players.
The 2014 India's tour of England was one of the most worse phases of Kohli's Test career. He had failed to score a fifty in 10 innings with 39 being his highest and finished the dreadful tour with 134 runs at an average of 13.40.
A few months before it was Williamson who was in the same phase.
South Africa whitewashed New Zealand in the 2013 two-Test series. He managed just 43 runs from four innings with 15 being his highest score on that tour.
Top form:
However, as time passed, the graph of the two moved steadily in an upward direction.
Kohli smashed five hundreds and a double hundred in the next two years following the nightmare tour of England. Meanwhile, Williamson's improvement was way ahead as he went on to add nine tons and an unbeaten 242 in Sri Lanka after New Zealand's 2013 tour of South Africa.
Kohli vs. Williamson during India vs. New Zealand:
The New Zealander has played seven Tests against India to Kohli's four Tests against New Zealand. However, it is the Indian Test skipper who has had better performances when the two sides have locked horns in whites.
| Name | Matches | Runs scored | Average | 100s | 50s | W/L/D |
| Virat Kohli | 4 | 426 | 85.2 | 2 | 3 | 3/1/3 |
| Kane Williamson | 7 | 496 | 38.15 | 2 | 2 | 1/3/3 |
The last time New Zealand toured India in 2012, they played two Tests, losing both matches. Kohli was the second highest run-scorer with 212 runs from three innings.
On the other hand, Williamson miserably failed with the bat, scoring just 114 runs in four innings. His poor form can be seen as one of the major reasons behind the visitors' loss.
When India toured New Zealand in 2014, Kohli once again was ahead of Williamson with regards to runs scored in the series. However, it was Williamson who had the trophy at the end. Both the players were the vice-captain of their side in that series.
Now, when they face each other in the upcoming series, they will walk out on the field for the toss wearing the captain's blazer.
Captain Williamson vs. Captain Kohli:
The Test series is crucial for New Zealand because the last time they won a Test on Indian soil was 28 years ago in 1988 under the leadership of John Wright.
This need to finally win a series in India will put the BlackCaps skipper under tremendous pressure to create chances for his side.
Meanwhile, Kohli will aim to continue his winning streak as a Test skipper. Since he took over the charge from MS Dhoni, the Kohli-led India has remained undefeated with series wins against Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies. And they drew the one-off Test against Bangladesh.
Williamson has so far led New Zealand in just two series - against Zimbabwe and South Africa. New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by winning both matches of the series and lost 0-1 against South Africa.
Regardless of the result of the Test series, an incredible contest is expected when these two lead their respective teams in the series.
