Who is better between Joe Root and Virat Kohli?

Masters of the game–Joe Root and Virat Kohli–are beautifully leading their respective teams in the clash between India and England.

But of course, when both of them are doing a phenomenal job on the ground, it leaves experts with no but to draw a comparison between the two players and analyze who has upped their game even when it is by a very small margin.

Given the format, we know that the Englishman has an upper hand in terms of the runs and his current form. When on the field, it is hardly debatable that Joe Root has been giving his all to put as many runs on the scoreboard as he can. Currently, in the longest format, Root is second on the list of top-10 batsmen behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

As for the Indian batsman, things are not working in favor of his bat. Kohli is clearly struggling with his form and unable to bounce back in both the ground–national and international stage. Even though the 32-year-old is at fifth position on the list in the given format, he hardly manages to stay put on the field and the only way he is currently being able to deliver is with his tremendous captaincy and fielding.

When captaincy comes into the picture, there is no denying that both the teams are being held by their captains to the best of their ability. When on the ground, the two teams are not the best of friends and are often subjected to a tense climate in the middle of the match.

Take the second test in the Lord’s for example. Things may have been controlled later on but it doesn’t take long for the two sides to get into an argument or exchange words that intensify the situation. At a time like this, it is the captains who have to show faith in the team players, and undoubtedly, Kohli is far ahead of Root when it comes to these tactical methods.

In the second, test England lost wholeheartedly and no matter how much one disagrees but it was to do with stargazing the game plan. It showed how Kohli was capable of bringing the best out of his players while also monitoring the situation up at the scoreboard.

Kohli knew what he wanted and went full throttle for it. Jasprit Bumrah got into an argument on field but managed to stick to the crease despite the pressure and proved his metal even at such a crucial time. It was to do with how Kohli decided his tactical move. Despite not performing with the bat, Kohli made sure to keep delivering through captaincy.

Even earlier this year, the way Kohli led team India to an epic win against Australia shows what capability he holds as a captain. More than anything, how skillfully he deals with tough situations and makes efforts to motivate the team to fight till the end.

Moreover, the ease with which Kohli lets his bowlers decide the field is also very inspiring to watch. He knows they will analyze the shot better and hence it is better to let them set the field. He is only behind the greats of Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh to become the most successful test captain in history.

So objectively speaking, one is better with the bat while the other excels with leadership. In a test match, what do you feel is more important?