Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli are the most devastating one-two punch in cricket

It took one a little longer to come along than the other but now that they are both here, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are simply unstoppable. For the first two ODIs in the series, New Zealand’s new ball bowlers seemed to have their number – in a sense, Rohit struggled against swing and seam while Kohli’s runs did not have their usual belligerent feel against an accurate attack.

But all that changed in the third ODI at Kanpur. Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan got through the first six overs. ‘Got through’ being an accurate term because the Kiwi bowlers were making good use of the movement available and if anything, their sole failing was the one boundary ball that they bowled in almost every over. It helped release the pressure.

So even as Kohli walked in to bat at the fall of Dhawan’s wicket, he knew that it wouldn’t be easy to begin with. Still, as the partnership formed, there was a sense of inevitability that seems to accompany each Rohit and Kohli partnership these days. *If* they don’t run themselves out, then the chances of getting one of them cheaply seem to be decreasing with every passing game.

“I’ve played here now a few times and I understand the nature of the wicket, so unless you make a mistake you’re not going to get out. The most important thing about my batting today was the partnership. [I didn’t play a risk-taking shot until] I got to a hundred. I was playing my natural game,” Rohit said after the match.

“The loose balls that I got, I was trying to put them away. We rotated the strike really well. We got those odd boundaries and then yes, once you get to a hundred, you’re set, you’re seeing the ball well, you know exactly what the bowlers are doing, so I was just trying to go as long as possible,” he added.

Their 230-run partnership was their fourth stand over 200 runs in ODIs – the most in this form of cricket. With it, they have now surpassed the pairs of Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly, Kohli-Gautam Gambhir and Upul Tharanga-Mahela Jayawardene, who have three double century stands to their names.

Over the last two years, the Kohli-Rohit jugalbandi has hit a purple patch. Both have over a 1000 runs in 2017 already and it’s only getting better.

Last two years

Kohli: 36 matches, 36 innings, 9 NO, 2199 runs, HI 154*, ave 81.44, SR 99.41, 9 100s, 11 50s

Rohit: 28 mts, 28 inngs, 3 NO, 1640 runs, HI 171*, ave 65.60, SR 95.79, 7 100s, 7 50s

When batting first:

Rohit in 1st match innings: 11 mts, 11 inngs, 1 NO, 846 runs, HI 171*, ave 84.60
Kohli in 1st match innings: 15 mts, 15 inngs, 2 NO, 1008 runs, HI 13, ave 77.53

When batting second:

Rohit in 2nd match innings: 17 mts, 17 inngs, 2 NO, 794 runs, HI 125, ave 52.93
Kohli in 2nd match innings: 21 mts, 21 inngs, 7 NO, 1191 runs, HI 154*, ave 85.07

There is a bit of a drop-off in the averages when Rohit bats second but even with that, the average is a pretty solid 52.93. Kohli’s numbers don’t need any telling but they show just why he is widely acknowledged as the world’s best ODI batsman.

The true damage, though, is done when they bat together. Their batting styles compliment each other well – both can play strokes all around the wicket, have no obvious weakness once they get settled in the middle and are hard to bog down. It means the runs keep coming at a steady pace and when they decide to up a gear, they are both capable of making absolutely good deliveries look like pure rubbish.

“Generally, when we are batting together, we don’t have to say much because we both understand where the game is going, have a good understanding of the situation and are thinking about what is best for the team. If we play our games, we know the team will benefit. We both like to score big runs and bat long,” said Kohli after the game.

When batting together...

In the early part of his career, Rohit batted in a lot of different positions and that seemed to throw him off a little. He was in and out of the squad too. Still, a look at their career partnership numbers shows that they are pretty difficult to stop when they get going.

Career numbers for Rohit-Kohli: 61 mts, 4 NO, 3413 runs, HI 230, ave 59.87, 12 100s, 9 50s

The career numbers of some of the other current top partnerships of the game show that they are clearly among the best:

HM Amla, Q de Kock: 78 mts, 2 NO, 3754 runs, HI 282*, ave 49.39, 10 100s, 13 50s
S Dhawan, RG Sharma: 68 mts, 1 NO, 3093 runs, HI 178, ave 46.16, 11 100s, 9 50s
HM Amla, AB de Villiers: 43 mts, 2 NO, 3091 runs, HI 238, ave 75.39, 12 100s, 8 50s
LRPL Taylor, KS Williamson: 50 mts, 2 NO, 2756 runs, HI 206, ave 57.41, 11 100s, 10 50s

Still if you think, the career numbers are impressive then it is worth looking at their numbers over the last two years.

Over the last 2 years: 17 innings, 1 NO, 1393 runs, HI 230, ave 86.93, 5 100s, 4 50s

An average of 86 when they get together is pretty incredible and it represents a huge jump over their career stand average which shows that they are still getting better. It also essentially means if you don’t get them quickly, you can be pretty sure they will finish the match off.

In this period, they have scored runs not just in the subcontinent but also in Australia and England. And that raises hopes that these stands aren’t just part of a spectacular home run. Rather, they have a much more permanent feel to them just the way the partnerships between Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar (the most successful partnership of all time) did.

SC Ganguly, SR Tendulkar: 176 mts, 3 NO, 8227 runs, HI 258, ave 47.55, 26 100s, 29 50s

Now, if they can continue to do that... we are witnessing the making of something that will be described in the coming years as truly legendary.

All numbers courtesy: ESPNCricinfo