New Delhi : Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting made a bold prediction about India’s stalwart batter Virat Kohli surpassing iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most centuries in ODIs during the ongoing men’s cricket World Cup.
Kohli has already struck 47 tons in 282 one-day international appearances just two short of ‘Master Blaster’s’ long-standing record.
Sachin set the benchmark of 49 centuries after playing 463 ODIs and also amassed the most number of runs in the 50-over format with a total of 18,426.
“I think he will. I think he’ll definitely get two hundreds, whether he gets the three is another thing. But the venues, the wickets and the grounds in India are just so conducive to scoring, making big runs. Who knows with him, it’s probably his last World Cup as well. If he gets that mindset, and we saw that he’s in pretty good touch, and we know with him he’s always hungry. He’s a winner, he wants success for himself and for his team. There is every chance at the end of this World Cup he could be equal with, if not breaking Sachin’s record, which is remarkable within itself,” Australia legend Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review podcast.
Kohli came close to reducing the deficit in India’s World Cup campaign opener against Australia. But he fell short by 15 runs as Josh Hazlewood dismissed him for a score of 85 off 116 balls.
His innings once again proved why Kohli is often called as the chase master by fans all around the world.
The chase master has struck 26 of his 47 ODI centuries while batting in the second innings, with 22 of those hundreds helping India to walk away with a victory.
On the back of these stats, Ponting asserted that Kohli is the first batter he would choose to chase down a target in the second innings of an ODI.
“His record speaks for itself, when you get hundreds chasing, most of those in winning causes. He’d be my first pick by the length of the straight,” Ponting said.
Virat Kohli will be in action in India’s clash against Afghanistan on Wednesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
