Virat Kohli and Joe Root after 50 Test: Who has the better stats?

The Vizag Test was not just a competitive match between India and England but also their two key players - Virat Kohli and Joe Root. (Vizag Test Scorecard)

The Indian Test captain and England player are currently among the finest batsmen in the world. Both players played their career's 50th Test in Vizag, second of the five-match series, only to make their already brilliant score even better. (Match Highlights)

It is only natural to compare the two cricketers who finished their landmark 50th Test at such high numbers and close competition. While Root's batting average of 53.19 is higher than the batsman from Delhi at 48.03, Kohli should be proud of holding three more centuries under his name.

While the first innings of the Vizag Test was in favour of Kohli who scored 167 as compared to Root's 53. In the second innings, Kohli struck 81 while Root scored 25. Root however has a better run record than Kohli, both of whom have played equal number of Tests now.

Here are the scores of legendary batsmen after their 50th Test:

Indian Test captain's highest score of 211, a feat he achieved at the Indore Test against New Zealand, however, could not match Root. The top-order batsman from Yorkshire who made his Test debut in 2013 also achieved his highest score this year, in a match against Pakistan in July where he scored 254.

While only Gavaskar's score of 4947 after his 50th Test is better than Root, Kohli stands behind iconic batsmen like Dravid, Gavaskar, Lara and Younis Khan but has managed to surpass legendary Tendulkar.
Root has clearly overtaken Kohli, who made his debut in 2011, in all aspects of Test cricket except the number of tons.

Kohli's average in 2016, however, is 69.00, a contrast to Root's 49.66. Root has scored 1192 runs so far this year, as compared to Kohli's 897, but the huge difference is also because the Indian batsman appeared in only 9 games while Root played in 14.

There is no doubt that both the batsmen are their country's current best but Root has the advantage of better statistical numbers on his side. The data however is biased against Kohli, who did not get as much Test exposure as Root did this year.