On his 35th birthday, Virat Kohli brilliantly produced his 49th ODI century against South Africa, guiding India to a resounding win, their eighth of the 2023 World Cup.
Everyone was also curious about Virat Kohli reaching the considerable achievement of Tendulkar’s 49 ODI centuries. Chat evolved to include the possibility of Kohli reaching his 50th hundred during this very same World Cup.
Ever since the switch from Tendulkar to Virat Kohli has happened, there’s been an ongoing question. Is Kohli on track to accomplish or even exceed what Tendulkar has left behind in his legacy? It surely is a lot to handle, but Kohli has managed this superbly.
While it seems he might surpass a few more of Sachin’s milestones, numerous Sachin’s records stand to remain unbeatable for a significant while, posing a challenge for Virat Kohli. Let’s inspect three such records.
1. Most matches in Test cricket (200)
Sachin Tendulkar tops in international cricket. He played the most Test matches, 200! James Anderson, the nearest active player, played 183 matches. He has quite a challenging journey to reach Sachin’s record.
What about Virat Kohli? He participated in 111 Test matches. His batting record is impressive, but Sachin’s number? He’s quite a distance away!
Given Kohli’s excellent fitness standards and levels, he can likely play top-level cricket for a minimum of 4-5 years if he chooses to, but there’s no chance 89 Test matches would be planned for India during that time, which means Sachin will keep this record in his name.
2. Most runs in Test cricket (15,921)
Virat Kohli is close to breaking Sachin’s ODI cricket records. That’s one big reason why all the records here are to do with Test cricket. It’s not that Sachin was not a big T20Is player.
Both players are exceptional Test batters. Kohli has fewer Test matches lined up in this era compared to Sachin. That’s a key reason Kohli might have less chance of beating Sachin’s records in this format.
Sachin achieved an amazing 15,921 runs in his Test career, with Ricky Ponting behind him by about 2500 runs. Virat Kohli has 8676 runs in 111 matches and is a long way from matching Sachin’s run total in the format.
For the same reason that he is unlikely to break Sachin’s record for most Test matches played, Kohli may struggle to reach 7000+ runs in the duration of his Test career, especially given the amount of Test matches that are scheduled currently.
3. Most Test hundreds (51)
For the same reasons stated above, this is another implausible record for Kohli to attempt to break, although it is the most likely of the three. Sachin achieved 51 hundreds in his Test career, with Jacques Kallis coming in second with 45.
Virat Kohli has achieved 29 hundreds in Test cricket in 111 appearances, and based on that ratio, it may be difficult for him to score the next 22 before calling it quits.
However, Kohli is a world-class batsman, and this record is truly a matter of 22 outstanding innings. Although unlikely, this idea is not out of the question for someone of his caliber.