Comparing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith's record in the World Test Championship 

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, perhaps the greatest Test batters of this generation alongside Joe Root and Kane Williamson, are continually tied for the numero uno spot in the minds of their supporters and pundits across the world.

While the former has been instrumental in helping India maintain their ascendancy in the world after the departure of Sachin Tendulkar from international cricket, Smith's rise to the top was almost sphinx-like after he started as a leg-spinning all-rounder and was later written off by everyone.

Smith's glory lies in the fact that he was not blessed with the best copybook batting technique while modern-day commentators may feel that that is precisely why he has been as successful as he has.

Kohli, on the other hand, is known for being supremely fit as well as having as good an orthodox technique as can be expected from anyone hailing from the western parts of the capital city of the country.

What draws the two together is that they are giants of the mental game that international cricket expects from its participants; they have mastered the art of knowing themselves inside out to bring the best from themselves in any situation.

Kohli and Smith started on par

Comparing these two in the three cycles of the World Test Championship that they have been part of so far reveals a wide gulf. While both are expected to be on par with each other given the kind of qualities they share, it is not the case.

Smith has accumulated a total of 3,486 runs in the 78 innings he has played so far while Kohli's aggregate is 2,314 in the 64 innings he has walked out to bat. While the India man averages 38, Smith's is significantly higher at 50.

The first World Test Championship cycle began in 2019, and that was the year when Smith made his comeback into the sport after spending the entirety of 2018 out due to his involvement in the Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa.

To return to the international stage with so little preparation and game time and yet hit the ground running is a testament to the skillset and mental ability that Smith possesses - he averaged an astonishing 74 in the 13 innings he played that year.

Kohli averaged 73 in the 10 innings that he played that year, but it was in the following year - the dreaded COVID-affected 2020 - in which he scored just 116 runs in six innings at an abysmal average of 19.30.

Smith too did not have the best of times in 2020, and in the five innings he walked out to bat for Australia, he scored just 73 runs. This is the only time in his career he has amassed less than 100 runs in a calendar year.

Smith inched ahead later

The second cycle of the WTC saw both start on equal notes but Kohli seemed to be marginally ahead of his contemporary, at least in the beginning. However, the disappointment of the loss in the final to New Zealand was debilitating.

Kohli ended 2021 and 2022 with 536 and 265 runs, respectively, and it was the latter that worried even his most ardent supporters. Smith, meanwhile, started steadily to pile up 430 and 876 runs in those corresponding years.

It was perhaps in 2023, the year in which Australia beat India in the final of the WTC at Lord's when these two came close to competing against each other without their swords sheathed. Sadly for India, Smith had edged far ahead by then.

Kohli put up 673 runs in the 12 innings he played in 2023, while Smith was phenomenal by amassing 929 runs in double the number of innings. Perhaps nothing was more symbolic of the difference between this duo than in the 2023 WTC final.

While Smith scored 121 runs to help Australia put up a decent total of 469 in the first innings, Kohli responded with 14 and 49 in the two innings. Sadly for the latter, it was not enough to save the game for India.

Australia eventually won the game by a massive margin of 209 runs, and it was the impact Smith had in the first innings that propelled them towards victory. Kohli was left shamefaced after a poor performance while Smith raked in the rewards.

For the sake of this article, numbers from the ongoing WTC cycle have not been considered since it has not been completed yet, and a lot is left for both players to showcase to the world.

The comparison between these two players will go on for as long as they play, but it is perhaps time to admit that Smith - despite having a year away from the game owing to a scandal - is miles ahead of the Indian maestro, at least statistically.

Both have been former captains of their respective countries and are inching towards the golden sunset of their careers.

Comparison is known to spoil the joy of most things, and the most prudent way to deal with this is to savor what both Smith and Kohli bring to the crease and not get hemmed into statistically-slanted numbers.