"He can score at least 50 more" - Harbhajan Singh settles debate on whether Virat Kohli can register 100 tons
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Virat Kohli will easily go past Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 international centuries. Kohli ended his century drought in the red-ball format on Sunday, March 12, during the fourth Test between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.
The right-handed batter played a sublime knock of 186 runs off 364 balls, laced with 15 boundaries, to guide India to a mammoth total of 571 in reply to Australia's first-innings tally of 480.
Kohli has now scored five centuries across formats over the last few months, reigniting hopes of him finally eclipsing Tendulkar's long-standing record of 100 international tons.
Throwing light on the same, Harbhajan reckoned that the former Indian skipper could score 50 more centuries given his fitness and if he plays in all three formats.
βIt's certainly possible. I think he can score more than that (100 centuries). Two things favor Virat here: his age, and his fitness. He's 34 but his fitness is that of a 24-year-old cricketer. He's way ahead in that aspect," Harbhajan told Sports Tak. "He has already scored 75 centuries, he can score at least 50 more. He knows his game and he plays all formats.
βYou might think I'm going overboard with this, but it is certainly possible. If anyone can do it, it's Virat Kohli. Rest all are far behind him," the former off-spinner continued. "He knew he had to work on his fitness because his batting abilities are god-gifted. I don't think he will stop from here.
"There are no technical faults, and even if they are, he works on them and rectifies them. Since his return (after break), he has already scored five centuries. This is pretty much a comeback for him."
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Kohli now has 75 international hundreds to his name, including 46 ODI tons, 28 in Tests, and one in T20Is.
"He got a chance to bat on a pitch that assists batters" - Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli
Harbhajan Singh further highlighted that Indian batters have mainly batted on spin-friendly surfaces, which is why they lack big scores in Test cricket.
He also stressed that the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have scored 50s in those wickets, which is almost equivalent to a hundred.
βIt's nice that he (Kohli) got a chance to bat on a pitch that assists batters," he added. "Earlier, the games used to end in three days and bowlers ruled the roost. Virat, Rohit (Sharma), and (Cheteshwar) Pujara also have the right to get pitches where they can score runs. A fifty on bowling-friendly surfaces is like a hundred, and they've done that."
Meanwhile, speaking of the fourth Test, the final game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is heading towards a draw.
India currently lead the four-match series by a 2-1 margin and have already retained the trophy.
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