Virat Kohli is at the peak of his powers, and he has been there for some time now, displaying unreal consistency across the three formats of the game. While there is some argument around who is the best Test batsmen currently, it is a no-brainer when it comes to ODI cricket. Kohli simply leapfrogs everyone.
During Tendulkar’s felicitation ceremony after he had brought up his 100th International ton, the Master Blaster was asked as to who he feels can do the unfathomable. Tendulkar responded with a smile ” Virat and Rohit are the ones”.
The Master’s words seem to have spurred Kohli on, as the Delhi batsmen have since then, embarked on a path of unreal consistency which has seen him rack up 64 International tons and is now firmly on track to vindicate Sachin’s words.
Besides the 100-centuries milestone, Kohli is in-line to break a plethora of other ODI records by the time he hangs his boots on his magnanimous career-
Here’s a look-
#1 50 ODI centuries
When the great Sachin Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 49 tons, who would have fathomed that we’ll be talking about a guy not named Tendulkar, who’ll do the unthinkable- scoring 50 ODI tons.
But, the way Virat Kohli has gone about his business in the past five years, especially, it now looks just a matter of time when he will score 50 ODI tons.
Kohli, 39 tons, scores an ODI hundred every 5.48 innings, as compared to Tendulkar’s Innings/100 ratio of 9.22, and at this rate, could go on and rack up in excess of 50 hundred by the time the curtains fall on his magnanimous career.
#2 Most Number of runs at a particular batting position
Another Tendulkar record which is up for grabs and insight of the King. Sachin currently holds the record for the most number of ODI runs in a single batting position.
Tendulkar opened the innings for the first time against New Zealand in 1994- five years after his ODI debut, and made the position his own for the better part of two decades. The Little Master opened the innings for India on as many as 340 occasions and racked up 15,310 runs at an average of 48.29- the most by any batsman in a particular position.
Like Tendulkar, Virat Kohli has made the No.3 spot his own. The Indian captain has accumulated 8440 runs in 162 innings while batting at No.3 in a list currently spearheaded by Ricky Ponting, who scored 12,662 runs in 330 innings, followed by Kumar Sangakkara with 9747 runs in 238 innings.
Most runs at No.3 position in ODI Cricket-
Ricky Ponting- 12,662 runs in 330 innings
Kumar Sangakkara- 9747 runs in 238 innings
VIRAT KOHLI- 8440 runs in 162 innings
#3 Most 50 plus scores [currently at 88, Tendulkar- 145]
No one is even near the Master when it comes to the most number of fifty-plus scores in ODI cricket. Tendulkar was a beast. The little champion scored a score in excess of fifty every 3.11 innings [145 innings out of the total 452]- 145 scores of 50+ – the most by any batsmen in the history of the game.
Most 50 + scores in ODI Cricket-
Sachin Tendulkar- 145 [3.11/inning]
Kumar Sangakkara- 118- [3.22/inning]
Ricky Ponting- 112- [3.25/inning]
VIRAT KOHLI- 88 [2.43/inning]
Kohli, on the other hand, has scored 88 scores in excess of fifty in his decorated ODI career thus far, which means the Indian captain racks up a 50+ plus score every 2.43 innings, and with a better part of a decade still in front of him, there’s every chance that the ‘King’ can leapfrog the ‘Master’ and set a benchmark so high that it will take a Brobdingnagian effort for the future generation to supersede.