Rajkot Test: Virat Kohli smashes 24th ton, goes past contemporary rival Steven Smith

Virat Kohli stamped his dominance on the cricket field once again as he smashed his 24th Test ton - a fine 230-ball 139 in the first Test against West Indies to go past his contemporary rival Steven Smith's tally of 6,199 Test runs. The Indian currently has 6,284 runs under his belt but has taken 123 innings to get thus far, while Smith notched up his runs in 117 innings. The Australian is on 23 tons.

The two young mavericks are outstanding batsmen in their own right, scoring massively across all conditions to bail out their team from tough situations. Though Smith has not played a game since the unfortunate Sandpaper Gate episode, the imprint that he has left behind is hard to ignore.

The above table displays the neck-to-neck competition that exists between the two modern cricketers. Both Smith and Kohli have scored a majority of their hundreds at home - 13 and 11, respectively, but have also been the anchor for their sides when the team is touring. Kohli's average in England can be seen as a blot though, which is largely due to his dismal show in the nation when India toured four years earlier.

Both Smith and Kohli have been phenomenal as leaders as well. Both started their leadership stints in India's tour of England in 2014, with Kohli making centuries in his first three innings, and Smith racing away to three hundreds in his first five as captain.

Both young leaders have taken to the responsibility of being in charge of their side like a duck takes to water, averaging more than their career average when they are at the helm. Kohli's conversion rate in this stint is simply phenomenal and the duo has time and again displayed their inane prowess with the willow in hand.

It is unfortunate that Smith will not be seen in the contest between the two nations later this year due to his ban, else we would have been witness to yet another intriguing challenge between two of the greatest batsmen in the era.