Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma against West Indies in ODIs: who has the better record?

India host West Indies in a three-match ODI series starting September 27, 2026. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to the format for it, and their long individual histories against this opponent make for a natural comparison right now.

Here's how their numbers against West Indies actually compare, according to ESPNcricinfo's ODI records.

 

Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma against West Indies — quick comparison

Stat	Virat Kohli	Rohit Sharma
Matches	43	37
Innings	41	35
Runs	2,261	1,613
Average	66.50	57.60
Strike rate	96.95	91.85
Centuries	9	3
Half-centuries	11	12
Highest score	157*	162

Kohli is the bigger run-scorer by a wide margin, 2,261 to 1,613, despite playing only six more matches. His average and strike rate are both higher too.

Centuries are where the gap is widest: nine for Kohli against three for Rohit. Rohit's only lead in the table is half-centuries, 12 to 11, and he also holds the higher individual score of the two, 162 to Kohli's 157*.

Cricklytix Insight: Kohli has made 50+ in 48.8% of his ODI innings against West Indies compared with Rohit's 42.9%. The larger difference is in hundreds: Kohli has scored a century in 22.0% of his innings, compared with Rohit's 8.6%.

 

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Virat Kohli's ODI record against West Indies

Runs and batting average

Kohli's average of 66.50 against West Indies sits well above his career ODI average of 58.59, already the highest among batters with 10,000-plus ODI runs.

That's not a small sample skewing the number. 41 innings is a real body of work, built across more than a decade of cricket against them, home and away.

His strike rate of 96.95 against West Indies also beats his overall ODI strike rate of 93.95. He has scored faster against this attack than he has against ODI opposition in general.

Centuries and major innings against West Indies

Kohli has scored 9 centuries against West Indies, more than any batter has managed against them in ODIs. No other player has even six.

His most productive stretch against them came across four consecutive innings between July 2017 and October 2018, in which he scored a century each time. Those innings came across separate series and tours rather than one single series. Within that period, the 2018 home series alone brought three hundreds in five innings, 453 runs at an average that turned the series into a personal exhibition.

His highest score, 157* at Visakhapatnam in 2018, came in a match where India's 371 for 7 still wasn't enough to beat West Indies, who tied the game. He has also chased under pressure against them, including an unbeaten 114 off 99 balls in Port of Spain that took down a 255-run target inside 13 overs.

What Kohli's numbers tell us

Kohli doesn't just outscore Rohit against West Indies. He converts starts into hundreds far more often. Of his 41 innings, 9 ended in centuries, a conversion rate of about 22.0%, or roughly one century every 4.5 innings.

Combined with a strike rate close to 97, this points to a batter who has treated West Indies bowling attacks as an opportunity to build large scores quickly rather than simply survive and accumulate.

 

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Rohit Sharma's ODI record against West Indies

Runs and batting average

Rohit's average of 57.60 against West Indies is well above his overall ODI career average of 48.95, so this has clearly been a productive opponent for him too.

37 matches is a smaller sample than Kohli's 43, and his strike rate of 91.85 trails Kohli's by roughly five points. Even so, an average in the high 50s sustained across more than a decade against any Test-playing side is a strong record on its own terms.

Centuries and major innings against West Indies

Rohit's tally of three centuries against West Indies is modest next to Kohli's nine, though his 12 half-centuries are the higher figure between the two batters.

His standout series came in November-December 2011, when he scored 305 runs across five innings and was named Player of the Series. He repeated that award in December 2019 with 258 runs in a three-match series.

His highest score, 162 off 137 balls, came at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in October 2018. That innings and a matchwinning knock at Guwahati earlier the same series together produced more than 300 runs from just two visits to the crease.

What Rohit's numbers tell us

Rohit's record against West Indies is built on frequent starts rather than frequent conversions. His century rate of 3 from 35 innings works out to about 8.6%, or one hundred roughly every 12 innings, well behind Kohli's conversion pace.

That doesn't make the record weaker on its own terms. Two separate Player of the Series awards in series India won show he has repeatedly turned starts into meaningful team contributions, even where those innings stopped short of three figures.

 

Kohli vs Rohit against West Indies — where each batter has the edge

Run accumulation: Kohli, 2,261 to 1,613.

Average: Kohli, 66.50 to 57.60.

Strike rate: Kohli, 96.95 to 91.85.

Century conversion: Kohli by a clear distance. His century-per-innings rate of 22.0% is more than double Rohit's 8.6%.

Fifty-plus frequency: Kohli again, though narrowly. He has reached fifty or more in 20 of 41 innings (48.8%), compared with Rohit's 15 of 35 (42.9%). Rohit's edge is limited specifically to raw half-century count, 12 to 11, not to how often either batter gets past fifty.

Highest individual score: Rohit, 162 to 157*.

Put together, the numbers show Kohli reaching fifty slightly more often than Rohit and turning those starts into a century far more frequently. Rohit gets in about as regularly but has historically stopped at fifty more often than he has gone on, which is the main driver behind the gap in hundreds between the two.

 

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Why Kohli and Rohit matter in the 2026 India vs West Indies ODI series

Kohli continues as one of India's most consistent ODI batters into his mid-30s. He arrives on the back of a 2-1 series loss in England, where he still managed scores of 65 and 74 in his final two innings of that series.

Rohit remains India's senior opening batter and has spent time atop the ICC ODI batting rankings over the past year, including a strong run through the South Africa and Australia series in late 2025.

Their historical numbers against West Indies provide context, not a forecast. A 66 average built across 41 past innings does not carry over automatically into a new series against a different set of bowlers and conditions.

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Kohli vs Rohit against West Indies — final statistical takeaway

Kohli leads the historical comparison against West Indies in every core scoring category: runs, average, strike rate, and centuries. Rohit's advantages are narrower and specific: a higher individual score (162 to 157*) and one additional half-century (12 to 11).

None of this determines what either batter does in the series starting September 27. It's a record of what has already happened, not a claim about what happens next.

 

Frequently asked questions

How many ODI runs has Virat Kohli scored against West Indies?

Kohli has scored 2,261 runs against West Indies in ODIs, from 43 matches and 41 innings, at an average of 66.50, according to ESPNcricinfo.

How many ODI runs has Rohit Sharma scored against West Indies?

Rohit has scored 1,613 runs against West Indies in ODIs, from 37 matches and 35 innings, at an average of 57.60, according to ESPNcricinfo.

How many ODI centuries has Virat Kohli scored against West Indies?

Kohli has scored 9 ODI centuries against West Indies, the most by any batter against them in the format.

How many ODI centuries has Rohit Sharma scored against West Indies?

Rohit has scored 3 ODI centuries against West Indies, alongside 12 half-centuries.

Who has the higher ODI average against West Indies, Kohli or Rohit?

Kohli has the higher average, 66.50 against Rohit's 57.60, based on their respective ODI records against West Indies.