It was enormous. It was historic. But for the past five or six years in particular, it was never unimaginable. It looked likely that Virat Kohli will surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 ODI hundreds. If one had to pick one format in which they would like Kohli to bat for the rest of their life, it would probably be the ODIs. Very few hitters have dominated world cricket in all three formats like Kohli has. Kohli has dominated cricket in 50 overs. He was still going strong in ODIs between 2019 and 2022, despite his runs in other formats drying up. Thus, it seemed inevitable when the time eventually arrived—and that too in a World Cup semifinal matchup versus New Zealand, dare we say. In ODI cricket, Kohli became the first player to 50 hundreds.
Even though the format isn’t ideal right now, you can guarantee that he will probably add a few more to his total before his career as an international cricket player ends. Nevertheless, surpassing Tendulkar’s 100 international centuries will be Kohli’s true test. He currently has 80. Since he hasn’t participated in the T20I format since December 2022, India’s five ODI matches are set for next year, and his future in that format is still unknown.
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In order to surpass or match Tendulkar, Kohli will mostly need to rely on red-ball cricket. To catch up with Tendulkar, he will need to hit five hundreds annually if he plays at maximum fitness for the next four years. That is not a simple task.
For just this reason, the great Brian Lara, who loves Kohli’s batting, is pessimistic about it. In what age currently is Kohli? 35, am I correct? He needs twenty but has eighty. He would need four more years to catch up to Tendulkar if he were to hit five hundreds annually. By then, Kohli will be 39. Difficult, extremely difficult work,” Lara said to Anandabazar Patrika.
“Kohli will shatter a lot of records, but 100 centuries seems hard,” said Lara
According to the former captain of the West Indies, it doesn’t make sense from a cricketing standpoint. “No one can say with certainty. The people predicting that Kohli will surpass Tendulkar’s century record won’t be considering cricket logic. It seems a long way off, twenty millennia. That’s a score that most cricket players never reach in their career. “I won’t take a risk and predict that Kohli will succeed,” he continued. “No one’s age ever stops. Although Kohli will likely shatter many more records, the 100-century record looks to be the hardest.
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But Lara didn’t forget to say that Kohli is the one who can pull it off if anyone can. “Only Virat Kohli can be near. I greatly like his self-control and commitment. How can you not be a fan of his? The way he gives it everything he has before a contest,” he continued.
“I send him my warmest regards. If he could achieve Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries, I would be overjoyed. He remarked, “I’m a huge fan of Kohli, and Sachin was a dear friend.”
In the recently concluded ODI World Cup, Kohli amassed 765 runs at an average of 95.62 in 11 games. He is the only player in cricket history to score over 700 runs in a single World Cup. He also hit three centuries, but many thought that he had slowed down to get one or two of those. Was he aiming for the achievement? Lara dismissed it. Some claim that they are all envious of him. They’re jealous of how many runs he’s scored. In my job, I have also encountered this,” Lara remarked.
