Ricky Ponting backs Virat Kohli to break Sachin Tendulkar's ODI record

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed Virat Kohli to break Sachin Tendulkar's record at the World Cup.

The Australian great Ricky POnting has predicted that Virat Kohli could break Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI centuries during the ongoing World Cup. Tendulkar leads the list with 49 ODI centuries and Kohli is just two behind the former Indian opener.

Notably, Kohli has scored 47 centuries in just 282 ODIs. The Indian batting sensation almost reduced the gap in his first appearance in the 2023 World Cup against Australia. Kohli led the team's batting attack from the front against Australia on Sunday at Chennai but fell for 85. After losing three wickets for two runs, Kohli rescued India along with KL Rahul and helped the team to win by six wickets.

However, with at least eight more matches to go in this World Cup, Ponting believes that Kohli could break the record with ease.

“I think he will. I think he'll definitely get two hundreds, whether he gets the three is another thing,” Ponting said on The ICC Review podcast.

He also added that the venues in India are batting-friendly which makes things easier for Kohli to get there.

“But the venues, the wickets and the grounds in India are just so conducive to scoring, making big runs. Who knows with him, it's probably his last World Cup as well," Ponting added.

"Virat Kohli is always hungry for runs"- Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting also pointed out how Virat Kohli is always hungry for runs and he wants to win for the team. In the last episode of the podcast, he also mentioned that this could well be Kohli's last World Cup.

“If he gets that mindset, and we saw that he's in pretty good touch, and we know with him he's always hungry. He's a winner, he wants success for himself and for his team," he said. 

He concluded by saying that equalling Tendulkar's record is itself a massive achievement for Kohli.

“There is every chance at the end of this World Cup he could be equal with, if not breaking Sachin’s record, which is remarkable within itself," he signed off.

Virat Kohli, who made his Indian debut in 2008, scored his first ODI ton against Sri Lanka in December 2009. He has managed to score 76 international tons so far and his latest century came against Pakistan last month, where he scored an unbeaten 122.

India and Virat Kohli will be in action against Afghanistan in their second match of the ICC Cricket World Cup on Wednesday at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Notably, Virat Kohli's last international meet against Afghanistan came in the 2022 T20 Asia Cup. The Indian batter ended up scoring 122* off 61.

India will look to continue their winning run in the World Cup after a decent start against Australia. However, the Indian top order will look to bounce back to scoring ways after a major flop in Chennai. India were reduced to 2 for 3 against the former champions before Kohli and Rahul rescued the team.