Kohli wins ESPN Cricinfo player of the decade award

ESPN Cricinfo’s cricketer of the decade polls was one of the hottest topics of debate and discussion in social media over the last few weeks. As the poll ended today, Indian captain Virat Kohli and Indian legend Mithali Raj emerged as the winners of the polls for the best men’s and women’s cricketer of the decade.

Kohli and Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry were chosen as the Editor’s choice men’s and women’s players of the decade respectively.

Our readers' picks for the Cricketers of the 2010s: Mithali Raj and Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/KTAR9K5qyw

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 7, 2020

?A superstar allrounder who played a key role in winning multiple world titles
?A run-machine who flourished across formats and led his team to No. 1 on the Test rankings

Ellyse Perry and Virat Kohli are our staff picks for the Cricketers of the 2010shttps://t.co/gbFySkbbMD pic.twitter.com/BoOoNLpsq3

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 7, 2020

Kohli vs. Dhoni: The battle of Kings

ESPNcricinfo right now: pic.twitter.com/2cgYGxJDzS

— TUSHAR ? (@mainlycricket) January 4, 2020

Two modern-day greats of Indian cricket, Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were the finalists in the poll. This was more than enough for the fans of both of these players as banters, trolls and online debates of whose contribution was more important in the decade became the topic of discussion.

Kohli fans came up with the staggering number of runs and centuries that Indian captain has scored in various formats. Whereas Dhoni fans came up with his incredible captaincy record and especially the 3 ICC trophies to counter Virat’s numbers. Virat’s journey to the final was simpler but MSD had to overcome tough competition in the semi’s with South African legend AB de Villiers.

At one point MSD was much behind ABD, but thanks to various of his fan pages and a tweet from his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, MSD defeated ABD in the semis in the final session, as he always does while playing.

Let's make #Thala @msdhoni finish it off in style! Vote now! #WhistlePodu ?? https://t.co/6ZOjbTD9HC

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 2, 2020

But in the final MSD’s fan base had to face tough competition from the fan base of Virat Kohli. It was an inch to inch battle at the start but in the end it was the Indian captain who emerged victorious.

https://twitter.com/Offl_TheViper/status/1214506401482936322?s=19

Polling over week’s time

The poll started off with 16 players who were the best performers of the 2010’s, each battling with one of the other 15 in a knockout format.

Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni: who's your men's cricketer of the 2010s?

Vote here ? https://t.co/JC4Xycrj53 pic.twitter.com/141tm1Th6S

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 5, 2020

The poll was all about Indian domination, thanks to India’s huge population and a large presence on social media. It was evident as the undisputed player in women’s cricket over the last decade Ellyse Perry was defeated in the final of the polls by her the former India Captain Mithali Raj, thanks to the latter’s huge fan base.

Finally, it was all about healthy banters and entertainment for the fans of these great players as Chennai Super Kings twitter handle rightly describes.