Ricky Ponting makes a prediction about Virat Kohli in CWC 2023 :Possibility to break Sachin’s records

Former Australian Skipper Ricky Ponting makes a prediction about Virat Kohli in CWC 2023. The chase master- Virat Kohli, scored a crucial knock of 85 runs from 116 balls during the clash between India and Australia on 8th October 2023 and led his team to a comfortable run chase under tricky situations of the match after India collapsed to a start of 2-3.

Virat Kohli’s steady knock justified his title as called the “Chase Master of Targets in limited overs format”. 

Ricky Ponting expresses his opinion that Virat Kohli who fell 15 runs short of his 48th ODI century felt after delivering a brilliant performance, predicted that 49 ODI centuries by the Master Blaster – Sachin Tendulkar, which was the all-time record, can either be equaled by scoring 2 centuries or surpassed by achieving additional 3 ODI centuries in this World Cup or in the upcoming ODI series.

The former Australian batsman and the 2-times World Cup-winning skipper predicts that this could be the last World Cup for Virat Kohli and his hunger to score runs makes him push beyond the limits to achieve targets.

The legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar achieved his 49th ODI ton against Bangladesh in his 451st ODI innings. Whereas, Virat Kohli achieved his 47th ODI ton against Pakistan in his 267th ODI innings and approaches closer to the record-breaking moments of Sachin Tendulkar.

Ricky Ponting was one of the greatest cricketers who supported Virat Kohli during the toughest phases of his life from December 2019 to August 2022, when he was not able to score high against the opposition.

Why Ricky Ponting makes a prediction about Virat Kohli in CWC 2023 to break Sachin Tendulkar’s Record: 15 Interesting Reasons to be known

Here are the reasons why Ricky Ponting makes a prediction about Virat Kohli in CWC 2023 with the possibility of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record:

1. International Centuries: 

Virat Kohli has achieved 77 international centuries (Tests-29, ODI-47, and T20I-1) and has surpassed the records of Ricky Ponting who has scored 71 international centuries (Tests-41 and ODIs-30)  in his career. Virat Kohli ranks 2nd position in the list of batsmen with the most number of international centuries across all formats with Sachin Tendulkar retaining the 1st position of 100 international centuries (Tests-51 and ODIs-49). 

If Virat Kohli had scored a century against Australia in the previous match of ICC World Cup 2023, it would have been his 48th ODI century as well as his 78th International century in all formats of cricket.

The average for any cricket player to retire is around 35 to 40 years. Virat Kohli (34 years till date) can easily play in the Indian cricket team for the next 5 years if he maintains his consistency and fitness.

2. Pitch Conditions in India: 

Ricky Ponting states that the ground and the pitch conditions across different venues in India are much more favorable for batsmen to score huge runs and Virat Kohli’s ability to find runs under the tough batting conditions makes him score huge runs against the opposition.

3.13,000 run-mark in ODIs: 

Virat Kohli has scored 13,168 runs in his 270th ODI innings whereas Sachin Tendulkar reached the 13,000 run mark in his 266th ODI innings. 

4. Maximum ODI centuries scored while chasing targets: 

Virat Kohli has scored 26 out of 47 ODI centuries while chasing against the opposition, out of which India won 22 matches and lost only 4 matches. This indicates that Virat Kohli’s 22 out of 26  centuries (total 47 ODI centuries) while batting 2nd against their opposition has guided his team towards the winning total.

On the other side, Sachin Tendulkar has scored only 16 out of 49 ODI centuries while batting 2nd – 13 Wins and 3 Losses. 

Also, Virat Kohli excelled in the records of Sachin Tendulkar by scoring maximum runs for his team in the winning moments.

Ricky Ponting feels that with 8 upcoming ODI matches of the ICC World Cup 2023 Tournament and if India qualifies for the semi-finals and finals, there are certainties to score more than 2 to 3 centuries in this tournament.

According to Ricky Ponting, a batsman who has scored a maximum number of centuries for his team in the winning cause has the ability to score more runs and break the records of the legendary batsman.

5. Maximum runs in ICC Limited Overs Tournament: 

Virat Kohli scored 2785 runs after playing 64 innings in the ICC limited overs tournament which includes the ICC World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, and ICC T20 World Cup. Whereas, Sachin scored 2719 runs in 58 innings including only the ICC World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy.

Virat Kohli beats Sachin Tendulkar’s record by scoring maximum runs in ICC limited overs tournaments.

6. Comeback for Virat Kohli: 

Virat Kohli had to face a tough time from December 2019 to September 2022, without scoring any international centuries for more than 2 and a half years. But, Virat Kohli overcame all the obstacles and criticism by scoring 6 international centuries ( including Tests-2, ODIs-3, and T20Is-1) from September 2022 to October 2023, which is an appreciatable factor within a span of just one year.

7. Maximum number of ODI centuries in a year: 

Virat Kohli scored a maximum number of 6 ODI centuries in the years 2017 and 2018 and scored 12 ODI centuries in these consecutive 2 years.  A minimum number of 1 ODI century was scored in the years 2009 – during the initial stages of his career and 2022– after struggling to regain his form.

Sachin Tendulkar scored a maximum number of 9 ODI centuries in the year 1998 and a minimum number of 1 ODI  century in the years 1995, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. 

If Virat Kohli delivers his consistent performance, then he can score a maximum number of ODI centuries as well as the most number of international centuries.

8. Fitness: 

Virat Kohli’s fitness with the bat and fielding proved to be the best at the age of 34 years. His ability to run fast between the wickets stuns the audience as well as the opposition teams.

9. Most number of ODI Runs: 

Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of 18,426 runs in 452 ODI innings, whereas Virat Kohli has 13168 runs in 270 ODI innings, which is the fifth highest in ODIs.

Though it may be challenging to surpass the overall runs of the Master Blaster in ODIs, Virat Kohli needs to play consistently for the upcoming 5 years to achieve this feat.

10. Virat Kohli’s and Sachin Tendulkar’s 15 years of international cricket career records: 

Here are the interesting comparisons of the records that Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli achieved at the age of 34 years in terms of maximum centuries scored:

• Sachin Tendulkar recorded 80 international centuries at this age including 37 Test hundreds and 43 ODI centuries. Virat Kohli recorded 77 international centuries including 29 Test hundreds, 47 ODI centuries, and 1 T20I century.
• Virat Kohli at this age scored 6 international centuries from September 2022 to October 2023 ( including Tests-2, ODIs-3, and T20Is-1). On the other side, Sachin Tendulkar at this age scored 6 international centuries (Tests-4 and ODIs-2) similar to Virat Kohli.
• Virat Kohli at this age scored a maximum number of 3 ODI centuries compared to Sachin Tendulkar (2 ODI centuries).

11. Virat Kohli’s ODI centuries against different opposition Teams: 

Here is the intriguing breakdown of Virat Kohli’s number of ODI centuries against 9 different opposition teams such as:

• Sri Lanka– 10 Centuries ( Batting 1st- 5 centuries, Batting 2nd-5 centuries)
• West Indies– 9 centuries ( Batting 1st-4 centuries, Batting 2nd-5 centuries)
• Australia– 8 centuries ( Batting 1st-3 centuries, Batting 2nd-5 centuries)
• New Zealand- 5 centuries ( Batting 1st-3 centuries, Batting 2nd-2 centuries)
• South Africa- 4 centuries ( Batting 1st- 2centuries, Batting 2nd-2 centuries)
• Bangladesh– 4 centuries ( Batting 1st-2 centuries, Batting 2nd-2 centuries )
• Pakistan – 3 centuries ( Batting 1st-2 centuries, Batting 2nd-1 century)
• England– 3 centuries ( Batting 1st-1 century, Batting 2nd- 2 centuries)
• Zimbabwe– 1 century ( Batting 1st-NA, Batting 2nd- 1 century)

From the above list of ODI centuries Virat Kohli scored against the opposition, here are the impressive facts you need to know:

1. Virat Kohli scored the most number of ODI hundreds against Sri Lanka (10 centuries)  and West Indies( 9 centuries), which is the highest by any player.
2. Virat Kohli is the 2nd player to score the maximum number of centuries against Australia (8 centuries ), South Africa (4 centuries), and Pakistan (3 centuries) following Sachin Tendulkar’s record of ODI centuries against the opposition ( Australia-8, South Africa-5 and Pakistan-5).
3. Virat Kohli is the only international cricketer to score a maximum number of 10 ODI centuries against a particular opposition team.

12. Virat Kohli’s ODI centuries against different opposition Teams at different venues: 

One of the main reasons, why Ricky Ponting backs Virat Kohli to have the maximum chances of scoring ODI centuries on home ground during the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament is because of the following reasons:

1. • Virat Kohli’s number of ODI centuries on home ground- 21
   • Number of ODI centuries by Virat Kohli away from home ground- 21
   • Virat Kohli’s centuries at the neutral venues- 5

13. Virat Kohli’s ODI centuries Batting at No.3 and No.4 Position

Virat Kohli scored a maximum number of 40 ODI centuries batting at the 3rd position and scored his remaining 7 ODI centuries batting at the 4th position. This highlights the fact that Virat Kohli has the maximum chance of scoring most ODI centuries while batting at the No.3 position.

14. Virat Kohli’s ODI centuries as a captain: 

Out of 47 ODI centuries, Virat Kohli scored 21 ODI hundreds as a captain and 26 ODI centuries as a non-captain.

15. Virat Kohli’s ODI centuries winning percentage:

India won 39 matches after Virat Kohli scored an ODI century (including Batting 1st-17 ODI centuries and Batting 2nd-22 ODI centuries to a winning contribution), and lost 7 matches along with 1 draw match.

At present, Virat Kohli needs only 2 ODI centuries in his career to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s records. But after scrutinizing the above records, it becomes evident that there are maximum chances for Virat Kohli to score more ODI centuries to rank first position in the list of most centuries scored by any batsman in ODI matches.