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In a sport so eternally wired around records, many of which are broken each day and new ones created the very next moment, India’s greatest batsman since Sachin Tendulkar is standing on the verge of a humongous achievement. No other batsman in the conception of one-day cricket besides Sachin Tendulkar has scored 49 centuries.
Just the leading batsman of his era, Virat Kohli finds himself desperately close to matching and ultimately surpassing his cricketing idol Tendulkar, the very man considered by the cricket world and globetrotting fans, the god of batting.
The equation at this time reads quite simple:
Tendulkar has 49 tons to his name, while, at this moment, Kohli has 47. Desperately close. Moreover, in 2023, Kohli’s already scored 1113 runs for India in international appearances. So the big question, therefore, in this context, is an obvious one. It’s precisely the one that has been floating in the mind of the Indian spectator.
Can Virat Kohli break Sachin Tendulkar’s one-day record where centuries are concerned? In fact, to cut straight to the point. How soon can the great Virat Kohli reach the majestic Tendulkar’s tally of ODI centuries? Also, can that happen before the biggest contest of one-day cricket, i.e., the World Cup arrives, which truth be told is just a few weeks away?
Having said that, let’s take into consideration the facts ahead of Virat Kohli. If he is to break Tendulkar’s record tally of 49 centuries prior to the World Cup, he has exactly 4 games left to do so. That implies 3 centuries to be scored in 4 games (1 Asia Cup final and 3 games in the series after). Not so easy, after all, is it?
Going purely and only by the form in 2023 (One Dayers) and the recent rhythm, he’s been in, considering Kohli is a world-class player- it is possible. This year alone, Kohli has scored 5 tons having overcome a lean patch where he didn’t score any in any format in nearly three long years.
Here’s an additional factor that can kickstart the record-chasing process. Why Kohli can get there also is because the very first shot he gets to score one of those hundreds is at the R. Premadasa stadium. It’s the venue of his most recent hundred, the 122* against Pakistan. Moreover, it’s where he’s scored 4 overall one-day centuries; two of them being on the bounce in the past against Sri Lanka.
So considering he hits a century at what’s been a hunting ground for him in the next few hours (in what’ll hopefully be a closely fought final of the Asia Cup 2023), he’ll be yet closer to Sachin’s tally. But getting closer doesn’t necessarily mean breaking the record.
It’s what’s to follow post the Asia Cup final that makes the task quite difficult - if not entirely impossible - for Virat Kohli. The only series he gets to play before stepping into the big World Cup is the ODI series at home against Australia. It’s here where Kohli, if he’s to overtake Tendulkar prior to the 2023 ODI World Cup, will need 2 tons from 3 outings.
This surely can’t be a cakewalk. That’s not only because the Australians will throw everything at him- including Hazlewood, Cummins, and Starc. So let’s delve a bit deeper into the Kohli versus Australia scenario in the one-dayers.
The last time that Virat Kohli faced Australia in any one-day series was actually earlier in March this year, prior to the start of the famed Indian Premier League. But in truth, it wasn’t the most mind-boggling series, to be fair. The returns from Kohli’s bat in the 3-match series read- 4, 31 and 54. Surely, he’d have liked to do lots more and fare a great deal better.
Alas, while that was a low-key series for the man considered a batting demigod of this era, it is Kohli’s overall batting results against the mighty Australian team that inspire confidence and actually ignite awe. Kohli has hit 8 of his 47 hundreds against Australia so far, which doing simple schoolboy math suggests, forms a sixth of his career hundreds in the one-day format.
Where it stands, it’s more than he’s hit collectively against England, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan put together. But you tend to understand the depth of this excellence against the Australians in greater detail when you realise that his efforts have actually culminated into a world record.
In that- Kohli’s 8 ODI tons against Australia are the 5th-most centuries by a batsman against a particular team. No mean feat. Is it? But while all of that is super impressive, here’s a catch. The last time that Virat Kohli's bat raged on to produce a three-figure score against the Aussies was back in 2019. At Nagpur, in March 2019, Kohli produced a belter of a century, a 116, which then was his 40th ODI century.
Fundamentally, it’s been four long years since Kohli last scored a ton versus the mighty opponents. But again, even as Kohli’s most recent ODI ton v the Aussies came in the pre-COVID era, it doesn’t mean he can’t take the kangaroo by its pouch and topple it down the ground. Cricket is after all a game of sheer unpredictability and is a sport where the greatly talented obviously have a bigger chance of excelling.
Kohli can go big in the three one-dayers for you never know! However, the chances of that purely going by recent statistics seem relatively low. Statistically speaking, here’s a case in point. In only 1 of the 3 grounds/ venues where he’s due to face Australia Kohli ended up scoring three-figure scores. The first one-dayer is slated for Mohali, where he’s scored an unbeaten 154* against New Zealand.
This is followed by the 2nd ODI due to be played at Indore. Notably, Kohli has never previously scored a one-day century at this ground. And finally, the third and final one-dayer is scheduled for Rajkot. Much like Indore, even at this ground, Virat Kohli has never previously hit a century in the one-day format. So even as there are dollops of experience, the famous instinct for domination, and the aggression to bat on, Kohli has quite a task up his sleeve.
For someone who’s been perennially hungry to score runs, he can make the arduous seem achievable. But where stats at the venues he’s due to bat at and his recent run of form against Australia stand, it seems, Kohli will need more games than just the approaching ones to go past Tendulkar’s one-day century tally. We shall have to wait for some more time before we go absolutely jubilant to hail the King.
Kohli’s record v Aus as of March 2023
Matches: 43
Runs: 2083
Average: 54.81
Strike-rate: 96.34
100s: 8
50s: 1
