CWC 2023: Virat Kohli On The Cusp Of Equalling and Breaking Sachin Tendulkar's Record Of ODI Tons

He grew up following the sport in his younger days because of the legend that was Sachin Tendulkar.

And although that has been the story of a lot of the 90s' kids, this kid is now on the cusp of touching his idol's record and breaking it as well.

Virat Kohli is no ordinary 90s kid today but the GOAT of ODI cricket with his 48 hundreds in the format and is all set to go ahead of the maestro Tendulkar.

Tendulkar, who has a total of 49 ODI hundreds, had always predicted right from the time that he struck 100 international hundreds that either Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma would break his records.

And Kohli is now moving one step in that direction after he struck his 48th ODI hundred against Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday.

This was also his 78th international hundred across all formats and a testament to the greatness that he possesses.

To reach 48 ODI hundreds at the age of 34 in 285 matches and 273 innings is a colossal achievement already and now to be on the verge of crossing the milestone of a man he aspired to be like is the stuff of dreams for Kohli.

Like Kohli himself stated in an interview to a broadcaster, it must feel surreal.

To think that Tendulkar got his 49 hundreds in the format in 463 matches and 452 innings while Kohli got the 48 tons in just 285 games speaks volumes at the pace at which the latter has racked up centuries.

The Delhi dasher is the absolute master of chases and has made a reputation for himself as 'The Chase Master' winning India matches galore with his supreme chasing and finishing skills.

Tendulkar was never really known for being a great chaser or finisher as such although he played innumerable match-winning knocks for the country.

With an ODI average of 58.01 and 13,342 runs under his belt, Kohli's statistics are staggering to say the least and it is bound to get more so as the matches and years go on.

This is probably the beginning of Kohli's breaking of Tendulkar's records as a lot of people have been predicting for a while.

The ODI hundreds record could get broken in the ongoing World Cup itself with India scheduled to play a minimum of five and a maximum of seven matches.

India have five league matches yet to play and with a strong possibility of making it to the semifinals and possibly be the final, there could be a total of seven matches for Kohli to break Tendulkar's record.