Gayle v Kohli: What the stats say

Cape Town - The second of the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals will take place on Thursday afternoon, and all of the hype pre-match has centred around Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. 

Both are explosive, and both have the ability to win matches on their own. 

Gayle proved that in his side's tournament opener against England, while Kohli's heroics ensured India's progression into the semi-finals with a dramatic win over Australia in the group stages. 

Gayle is considered by many to be the king of T20 cricket as he travels the world and delivers for franchise after franchise, but a closer look at the statistics suggest that - on the international stage - Kohli is every bit as dangerous as Gayle ... perhaps even more so. 

T20I records:

Gayle 

Matches - 48

Runs - 1 510 

Average - 36.82

S/R - 145.75

100s - 2

50s - 13

Kohli

Matches - 42

Runs - 1 552

Average - 55.42

S/R - 132.99

100s - 0

50s - 15

Gayle, unsurprisingly, has a healthier strike-rate than Kohli, but Kohli has scored more runs than Gayle in fewer matches at a better average. 

What that suggests is that while Gayle may be more explosive up front, Kohli has the ability to bat through an innings and see his side over the line. 

When one takes a look at the stats of the duo in all forms of T20 cricket - including IPL and franchise cricket - Gayle begins to have an upper hand. 

The stats suggest that Kohli is a far more dangerous player when turning out for his country. 

Overall Twenty20 records:

Gayle

Matches - 242

Runs - 8 830

Average - 43.49

S/R - 150.17

100s - 17

50s - 55

Kohli

Matches - 187

Runs - 5 383

Average - 37.9

S/R - 129.43

100s - 0

50s - 38

A startling statistic is that Gayle has made 17 Twenty20 100s while Kohli is yet to score one.

But despite that, Kohli goes into the match as the No 1-ranked batsman in World T20 cricket while Gayle is down at No 6 on that list.

Regardless of what the stats say, the wickets of these two destroyers will be crucial in Thursday's semi-final.

2016 ICC World Twenty20:

Gayle

v England - 100* (48)

v Sri Lanka - DNB

v South Africa - 4 (2)

v Afghanistan - DNP

Kohli

v New Zealand - 23 (27)

v Pakistan - 55* (37)

v Bangladesh - 24 (24)

v Australia - 82* (51)