IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli One Century Away From This Huge World Record

Virat Kohli needs one century to score the highest number of international tons across all formats as a captain. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting held the record, with 41 centuries as captain, and Virat Kohli drew level with him with his century at the Eden Gardens against Bangladesh in November 2019. South Africa's Graeme Smith is behind them with 33 tons as captain. Kohli will get a chance to grab the outright world record during India's three-match ODI series against Australia, which starts on Tuesday.

Virat Kohli has scored 20 Test centuries as captain, while he has 21 tons in ODIs while leading India.

Kohli went past Ponting in terms of Test centuries as captain with his 136 against Bangladesh, and if he bags a hundred in the series against Australia, he will equal Ponting's record for most ODI tons as captain as well.

Notably, Ricky Ponting has his 41 centuries from 376 innings, while Kohli has batted in 196 innings.

While the pressure of captaincy has often seen a few players experience a dip in performances, leadership has only benefited Virat Kohli.

While Kohli's Test average is 54.97, his average as a captain in the longest format is significantly higher at 63.80.

In ODIs, the difference is even greater. His career average is 59.84, while he averages 77.60 as captain.

India will play Australia in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, with the second match scheduled for January 17 in Rajkot. The final match of the series will be played on January 19 in Bengaluru.

Topics mentioned in this article

India vs Australia 2020 India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Virat Kohli Ricky Ponting Cricket