Virat Kohli can draw level with Sachin Tendulkar by scoring century in 2023 World Cup match against New Zealand
Team India batter Virat Kohli has been in wonderful form in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup. He has notched up 259 runs in four innings at an average of 129.50 and a strike rate of 90.24.
Heading into the match against New Zealand in Dharamsala on Sunday, he is the third-leading run-getter in the tournament after Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan (294) and Indian captain Rohit Sharma (265).
Kohli kicked off his 2023 World Cup campaign by compiling a hard-fought 85 against Australia in Chennai. He followed it up with a confident 55* in Afghanistan in Delhi.
After perishing for 16 in the marquee clash against Pakistan in Ahmedabad, the 34-year-old scored 103* off 97 balls as the Men in Blue hammered Bangladesh by seven wickets in Pune.
Kohli was the Player of the Match for his sublime knock, which featured six fours and four sixes as India chased down 257 in 41.3 overs. The Indian batter’s hundred against Bangladesh was his 48th in ODIs, leaving him just one behind the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.
Kohli has notched up 48 tons in 285 matches, scoring 13342 runs at an average of 58. As for Tendulkar, he hit 49 tons in 463 games, amassing 18426 runs at an average of 44.83.
If Kohli scores a hundred in the 2023 World Cup match against New Zealand in Dharamsala on Sunday, he will equal Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds by a batter in ODIs.
Kohli can also surpass Sanath Jayasuriya’s ODI tally
Among leading run-getters in one-day cricket, Kohli is at No. 5 on the list. He is 88 runs behind Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya, who finished his ODI career with 13,430 runs from 445 matches at an average of 32.36. Tendulkar (18,426), Kumar Sangakkara (14,234) and Ricky Ponting (13,704) occupy the top three positions in the illustrious list.
Among other records that can be broken in the India-New Zealand match, Shubman Gill is 14 runs away from becoming the quickest batter to 2,000 runs in ODI cricket. Hashim Amla is the current holder of the record - 40 innings. Gill has 1,986 runs from 37 innings so far.
Also, Mohammed Shami needs one wicket to go past Anil Kumble’s tally of 31 wickets in ODI World Cups. Shami has 31 scalps from 11 matches, while Kumble claimed his wickets in 18 games.
Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath (44 wickets) jointly hold the record for most wickets by an Indian bowler in the ODI World Cup.