Virat Kohli on verge of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s two ODI world records in series against Sri Lanka
Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli will return to action in the upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka.
The Kohli-starrer Team India will meet Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI of the three-match series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. After ending his ODI century drought which lasted 1214 days during India’s tour of Bangladesh, Kohli is eyeing another massive record of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar in the 50-over format.
The former India captain had eclipsed batting legend Ricky Ponting when the 34-year-old last scored a century in ODI cricket. On Tuesday, Kohli can set his sights on equalling Tendulkar’s monumental feat in ODIs. Batting legend Tendulkar has the most number of centuries (20) in ODI cricket at home. Ex-India skipper Kohli has 19 under his belt at the moment. If Kohli ends up reaching the triple-digit figure in the 1st ODI, the star batter can equal Tendulkar’s massive milestone. And if he manages to score another, he will break the world record.
Sachin Tendulkar smashed 20 ODI centuries at home in 164 matches. Kohli has registered 19 tons at home in 101 ODIs. Run-machine Kohli has 12,471 runs under his belt in ODI cricket. He needs to score 180 more runs to enter the top 5 of the all-time run-getters in ODIs. Kohli is only behind Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Mahela Jayawardene in the elite list.
Interestingly, Kohli and Tendulkar have scored 8 centuries each against Sri Lanka in ODI cricket. No other player has slammed more tons than Tendulkar and Kohli against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format. Batting legend Tendulkar amassed 3,113 runs against Sri Lanka in 84 ODIs. Kohli has accumulated 2,220 runs against the 1996 World Cup winners in 47 ODI matches so far. Former Indian skipper Kohli has registered 19 50-plus scores against Sri Lanka.
If Kohli scores a hundred in the series, he will also equal his and Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries against one team. Kohli and Tendulkar sit jointly at the top of the list with 9 centuries against the West Indies and Australia respectively.