Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli: Test comparison - Who was better?

On May 12, 2025, a bona fide superstar of Indian cricket - Virat Kohli, announced his retirement from Test cricket through a social media post. Kohli, amidst speculation that is now customary to him, hung up his Test whites and brought the end to an era of Indian cricket defined by the fire and the passion that he held within himself for the game. 

Kohli's own cricketing idol - Sachin Tendulkar - has widely been considered the best player ever to have held a bat in his hand, at least in the memory of those who have watched him wield it. 

As might have been expected, Kohli drew constant comparisons with his idol ever since he first wore an India shirt. There have been those who unwaveringly believed Tendulkar the "Little Master" will always be superior, while some others were convinced that Virat "the King" Kohli had usurped his idol from the top. In this article we will look at key numbers pitting the two legends against each other. 

Kohli has retired at the age of 36 having played 123 Tests. Kohli's important numbers in the format now read 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85 with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. 

Tendulkar vs Kohli - after 123 matches

Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket having played 123 matches, making him the seventh most capped player in India's Test history. Tendulkar has a storied career, where his 200 matches are the most by any player in the entire world. 

Tendulkar's 123rd Test was in Bengaluru against Pakistan in 2005. Younis Khan's 267 in the first innings set up a series-levelling win for the visitors. At the end of that game, the three-match series between the sub-continental rivals stood level at 1-1. Tendulkar himself had an outing to forget, making 41 & 16 in India's 168-run loss. 

Tendulkar vs Kohli - at the age of 36

Having debuted at just 16, Tendulkar went on to famously play until he was 40. The last encounter that he played while he was 36 was the Kolkata Test of 2010 against South Africa. Centuries from Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni and Tendulkar himself helped India get a series-levelling innings win. 

Overall career

There is practically no doubt that Tendulkar has managed to fare better by any surface level metric conceivable to compare two batters. He holds the record for the most runs and the most centuries by one batter in the history of Test cricket, while Kohli missed out on opportunities to scale heights that were predicted for him in his heyday of the red-ball format. 

While Tendulkar leaves Kohli in the dust in a comparison of raw statistical values of their career metrics, the game is made up of more than those. 

Success away from home, especially outside Asia, is a defining factor for any Indian batter to be remembered for their exploits. Both these great batters have delivered memorable innings offshore, but the comparison reveals some interesting facets. 

And as should be expected of great batters, both of them have some very strong numbers to boast of at home in India. 

Tendulkar also clearly leads the chart when it comes to the awarding metrics like Player of the Match and Player of the Series 

No player has been a part of more Test wins for India than Tendulkar's 72. Kohli with 62 is second. In wins as well, the two have contributed significantly for the Indian team over a few years.

It can be argued that performing in losses is a display of grit, character and strength. The gifts of the two players make them among India's best performer in losses as well. 

One of the best metrics of ascertaining contribution of a player is checking the percentage of team runs scored by the player. The following table will display these metrics for both players in wins, losses, in India and outside Asia as well as for their entire careers. It is to be noted that the percentages are only from the matches that the respective player played. 

Comparing across eras has often been deemed the hardest task in cricket. So, a final metric is being introduced. The relative averages. Relative averages are calculated as the ratio of the batter's batting average and the averages of all other top 7 batters in matches involving said player. The players' own averages are not a part of either aggregate. 

The relative average is calculated in two categories. Once relative to the players' own teammates, and once taking the opponents' averages into consideration as well. 

These numbers can be read in the following way:

In the matches that he played, Tendulkar was 34% better than his own teammates and 34% better than all other players in the match as well. 

Kohli on the other hand, was only 30% better than his teammates and a whopping 41% better than all the other players in that game. 

The metric of relative averages can also be measured in situations like wins, losses, home and away, but here they need to strictly be relative to a batter's own teammates rather than to those of their opponents. The following table illustrates that. 

Tendulkar vs Kohli - Captaincy Record

Virat Kohli won more games as captain than Tendulkar captained in his career. The New Delhi-born led India through most of an unbeaten streak of 18 consecutive home series wins and also led India to two series wins in Australia, one in Sri Lanka and a series draw in England. 

Tendulkar never won a Test series away from home, and his last series as captain was a 0-2 whitewash at the hands of South Africa, at home nonetheless.