Sachin Tendulkar Makes Special Promise To India Captain Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has 35 ODI centuries and is expected to pass Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 hundreds.
Highlights
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Virat Kohli is placed second in the most centuries list
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Kohli is behind just Tendulkar, who has 49 hundreds to his name
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Kohli is widely touted to break Tendulkar's 49-century record in ODIs
Virat Kohli is a run machine, there can be no refuting that. With 35 ODI hundreds, the Indian skipper is placed second in the most centuries list and is behind just batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has 49 hundreds to his name. Kohli is widely touted to break Tendulkar's 49-century record in ODIs. Tendulkar on Monday said that he will share a bottle of champagne with Kohli if the Indian captain breaks his record and scores 50 centuries in the limited-overs format.
"I will go and share a bottle with him if he breaks my record," Sachin Tendulkar said during a book launch in Mumbai.
"I won't send him champagne bottles; I will go there and share it with him," he said.
Since the beginning of 2017, Kohli has notched up nine ODI centuries so far, bringing his tally to 35. In the process, he overtook Australia's Ricky Ponting (30) and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (28).
Former India opener Virender Sehwag also feels Kohli will comfortably break Sachin Tendulkar's record for most hundreds in ODIs.
Sehwag, in response to a Twitter question, had predicted that Kohli will go on to score 62 centuries in the 50-over format.
How many odi's centuries will virat be able to make at the end of his career ??? #AskViru virat kohli
— Ashutosh Gupta (@iamashutoshg) February 16, 2018
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 16, 2018
Speaking with cricket.com.au in 2016, Kohli had said Sachin Tendulkar's influence on him as a cricketer had been "massive".
"I started playing cricket because of him. I got inspired to do things that he did for the country. I always visualised myself in those situations and I was lucky enough to be a part of the same changeroom (as him) when I was starting and he was still around. He really helped me with little things that I could improve in my game. If he saw something he would come up to me himself and tell me, 'This is something you can work on', which is quite rare; you don't (often) have people of his stature come and talk to youngsters like that, pointing out things like that. So he always gave you confidence," the Indian skipper said.
"I batted with him a few times as well, we had some big partnerships, and that for me is the most special thing I could have asked for," Kohli said.