India's cricket superstar, Virat Kohli, is displaying a rare form. In a match against New Zealand in Vadodara on Sunday, he scored a compelling 93 runs. Prior to this, he amassed runs against South Africa in a recent ODI series to prove that age is merely a number. Virat hit two centuries and a half-century in this series. Against the Kiwis, he was just 7 runs shy of another century.
At one point, it seemed Kohli would achieve his 85th international century. However, he narrowly missed out. Despite his illustrious career, one record appears slightly out of reach: the 100 international centuries. Sachin Tendulkar remains at the pinnacle, having achieved 100 centuries in his career, a feat considered unbreakable for many.
Kohli currently boasts 84 international centuries. It is essential to explore whether Kohli can surpass Tendulkar's century record. Let's unravel the complete story...
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Total Centuries by Virat Kohli
In Tests, Kohli has scored 30 centuries. In ODIs, he has made 53 centuries, and in T20s, he has one century. This brings Kohli's tally to 84 centuries. Having retired from Test and T20 formats, ODIs are now his only platform to achieve more centuries.
Source: aajtak
It is anticipated that Kohli will remain with the team until the 2027 ODI World Cup. Post this, he plans to retire from this format as well. Let’s explore how many opportunities Kohli has to break the grand record of 100 centuries.
Kohli vs. Sachin Century Record
Currently, Virat Kohli has 84 international centuries. To match Sachin Tendulkar, he needs 16 more centuries, and to surpass him, he requires 17 more.
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How Many Matches Before the 2027 World Cup?
Before the 2027 ODI World Cup, Team India is scheduled to play a total of 17 ODI matches. Following the New Zealand series, India will play against Afghanistan, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the West Indies. This means Virat Kohli has 17 ODI innings to hit 16 centuries before the World Cup.
Source: aajtak
Given the current competitiveness in cricket, this feat appears nearly impossible. Even in the best form of their career, it is challenging for any batsman to score a century in every alternate match.
Can the World Cup Assist?
The official schedule for the 2027 ODI World Cup has not yet been released, but according to estimated formats, the Indian team might play around 9 to 10 matches in the World Cup. If this occurs, internally, Kohli might get approximately 27 innings—17 before the World Cup and 10 during it.
This implies Kohli will need to score 17 centuries in 27 innings to surpass Sachin, or 16 to equal him. Although this seems a daunting task, given Kohli’s current form, nothing seems out of his reach.
