Shubman Gill vs Virat Kohli vs Cameron Green: Which was the better T20 century?

Three hundreds, all coming off varying trajectories in scenarios different from one another, have once again opened up a pertinent question: which was the most apt T20 innings? A cursory glance at the scoreboard is bound to prompt unabashed praise of Shubman Gill and Cameron Green. If Gill required 52 balls to reach his hundred, Green took five balls less. Virat Kohli’s hundred was lavish by that comparison, using up 60 balls—or half a T20 innings. Further damning is the number of sixes he had hit—just one, compared to eight each by Gill and Green.

The manifestation of those hits is even more glaring when the composition of their hundreds are examined. Out of Kohli’s 101, 58 runs have come in 14 boundary hits. That increases to 68 off 13 hits in Gill’s 104 but jumps to 80 off 16 hits in the case of Green’s 100. No wonder then that Kohli finished with the worst strike rate of the three. Was it the most unsuitable T20 innings though? Let’s look at the mitigating factors in each of the hundreds.

Both Gill and Green had the advantage of chasing, meaning they knew exactly how to pace their innings and not lose track of the target. But Kohli was going in blind, setting up a target on a sluggish outfield that became quicker as the game wore on.

More critical was the support lent to all three. Gill, for the better part of his hundred, had Vijay Shankar at the other end. As an impact sub, Shankar came in specifically to go after the bowlers, allowing Gill to find his feet at the start. When he finally did, Gill went toe-to-toe with RCB’s bowlers not only because Shankar was finding his range but also because Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan were waiting in line. Green batted in an equally comfortable zone, first with Rohit Sharma who looked in fine form hitting a fifty, and then with Suryakumar Yadav who has regained his T20 touch.

Pit this ease of batting against the unease of Kohli, trying to find partners after Faf du Plessis and Glen Maxwell departed in quick succession while keeping the innings on its toes. Ten runs per over seemed great when 12 or 13 should have been ideal but Kohli could only do so much.

Kohli felt he was back to his best again but the lack of runs from RCB’s middle order meant he couldn’t take as many risks as he would have wanted to—which simply equates to not risking the aerial shots that he is perfectly capable of. In providing unrivalled batting depth, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans ensured Green and Gill were given the liberty to attack the bowling. But Kohli didn’t have that privilege.

An inconsistent middle order is somewhat of a chronic problem now for RCB.

“Last season, our top order wasn't scoring that many runs. That meant the bulk of scoring was done by the lower order in Shahbaz and Dinesh, who had a fantastic season last year,” said RCB head coach Bangar after the game. "But this season the top order was batting so well, the opportunity to the lower order was limited. DK (Dinesh Karthik) had a season which is probably below his standard, if he had clicked in a couple of games that would have meant we would have added 15-20 runs more in the games that were the crunch ones and those runs could have been the difference in winning and losing a game.”

Not that RCB haven’t tried. From trying du Plessis as impact sub to getting Michael Bracewell as pinch-hitter, RCB have come up with different ideas to give more depth to their batting. Truth, however, is that so good have Kohli, du Plessis and Maxwell been at the top at times that they weren’t forced to give too much thought to the lower middle order. That finally boomeranged on RCB in a must-win match, prompting Kohli to choose between anchor and aggressor. He took the practical solution, something du Plessis felt probably bogged Kohli down.

"Obviously, last year DK had an incredible season, probably one of the purple patches of his life and was finishing games left, right and centre,” he said. “This season, it wasn't to be and that's the game of cricket. I thought there was a lot on his (Kohli’s) shoulders. I did feel that there could be someone with him to shoulder that responsibility."

...