3 records of Sachin Tendulkar that Virat Kohli could break in 2020

Virat Kohli was tipped as the heir apparent to Sachin Tendulkar very early in his career and he has lived up to the expectations incredibly well. It is difficult to compare the two batsmen as they have played their cricket in different eras.

However, one thing that can be said with absolute conviction is that Kohli has not let the Indian fans feel the void that was left by Sachin Tendulkar after his retirement.

Kohli took the responsibility on his shoulders after Tendulkar bid adieu to the game and took the legacy of the master blaster ahead. The Indian captain has performed excellently in all formats of the game in the last 6 years and is now on the verge of breaking some of the records that Sachin Tendulkar once set. Here are the 3 of those records that Kohli could break in 2020 –

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#1 Most ODI centuries

Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar

Virat Kohli has 43 ODI centuries to his name in 242 ODIs he has played in his career. Sachin Tendulkar, with 49 centuries, holds the record of scoring the most number of centuries in ODI cricket.

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Kohli has every chance of going past the centuries’ tally of Sachin Tendulkar in 2020. The Indian captain didn’t have his best year with the bat in ODIs in 2019 as he couldn’t convert many of his 50s into100s, but he still ended up scoring 5 centuries.

If he is at his fluent best right through 2020, there is no reason why he can’t score 7 ODI centuries in a year and drag his tally to 50. If and when Kohli gets there, he will do it in significantly lesser number of games than Tendulkar.

The Mumbaikar scored 49 centuries in 463 ODIs, while the current Indian skipper has scored 43 so far and has only played a little more than 50% of the games that his idol played.

#2 Fastest to 12,000 ODI runs

Sachin Tendulkar has 20 ODI hundreds in India

There have been five batsmen in the history of ODI cricket so far who have scored 12,000 or more runs. Tendulkar was the fastest to achieve the feat. It took him just 300 innings to get to this amazing milestone, while the remaining four players required more than 300 innings to complete their 12,000 ODI runs.

However, Kohli is all set to top this list as well. The Delhi right-hander has the chance take his tally to 12,000 ODI runs in fewer games than Tendulkar.

The 31-year has scored 11,609 runs in 233 innings he has played at an average of 59.84. He is just 391 runs away from 12,000 runs. Even if he loses his form at some stage next year, he should be able to score these 391 runs, unless it’s a drastic loss of form which is not common with him.

If Kohli bats as fluently in 2020 as he normally does, his batting average suggests he should be able to get to the 12,000 run mark in just about 10 more games.

#3 Most ODI hundreds at home

Virat scored 19 ODI centuries at home

Out of the 43 hundreds that Kohli has scored in ODIs so far, 19 of them have come at home. Tendulkar is again at the top of the list with the most number of ODI hundreds at home as he scored 20 ODI hundreds on Indian soil.

Kohli needs just a couple of more hundreds to break the record of scoring the most number of ODI hundreds at home. The stylish right-hander should do it at some stage in 2020 as he will be playing sufficient number of ODI games in India throughout the year.

India will play 3 ODIs against Australia, 3 ODI against South Africa and 3 ODIs against England at home in 2020. Although these three teams have got good bowling attacks, Kohli can be backed to score two hundreds in these 9 games, given the kind of consistency he has shown in his ODI career till now.