4 major batting milestones Virat Kohli could achieve by the end of his ODI Career 

To say Virat Kohli is in good form in the ODI cricket will be an understatement. The batting dynamite has been plundering runs at will against every opposition in every possible condition. He has tamed every bowling attack he has faced and is arguably the best batsman in world cricket at the moment.

The Indian captain has shattered several ODI batting records at will and is well on his way to batting immortality. He is only 30 years of age and is already considered as one of the greatest batsmen to have played the game.

In this article, let us look at four major batting records that Virat Kohli could achieve by the end of his career.

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#4 First Man To score 50 ODI Centuries

It is only a matter of time before Kohli breaches this milestone. He has already scored a staggering 38 ODI hundreds in just 216 ODIs and is currently second in the list of the highest century-makers in ODIs, only behind Sachin Tendulkar( who has 49 tons).

With the kind of passion and the insatiable hunger for runs he possesses, it would be safe to assume that Kohli still has at least 7-8 years of cricket left in him.

Assuming the right-handed batsman scores three centuries a year, he can score his 50th ODI hundred in four years' time.

#3 Most runs in a single batting position

The record for the most runs in a single batting position is held by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. The ‘Little Master’ opened the batting for India 340 times in ODIs and scored 15310 runs at an average of 48.30.

If there is one man who can go past this long-standing record of the 'Master Blaster', then it has to be the batting run machine, Virat Kohli. Kohli has played 156 innings for India at No.3 and scored an astounding 8139 runs at a supernal average of 63.59

Going by the form that Kohli is in with the bat, he can overhaul this record of Tendulkar in another six years.

#2 Most Number of 50+ scores in ODIs

In the 208 innings that he has played so far, Kohli has 86 scores of 50 or more in ODIs

In a career spanning a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar scored 49 centuries and 96 fifties which means that Tendulkar has an incredible 145 scores of 50 or more in ODIs.

The only man who has any realistic chance of going past Tendulkar’s tally in the near future is Kohli. In the 208 innings that he has played so far, the Indian captain has 86 scores of 50 or more in ODIs, which means that he crosses a fifty every 2.42 innings.

If Kohli can continue this tremendous form with the bat, then he can easily go past this record of Tendulkar and become the first man in the history of ODI cricket to have 150 scores of fifty or more in ODIs.

#1 First Batsman To Score 20000 ODI Runs

Kohli could well become the first batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score 20000 ODI runs

The leading run-scorer in ODIs is India’s batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar. In an unprecedented 463 ODIs, Tendulkar scored a colossal 18426 runs for India, including 49 centuries and 96 fifties.

Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has already scored an astronomical 10232 runs from 216 ODI’s and averages an ethereal 59.84.

To understand why Kohli can go past Tendulkar’s tally, and eventually become the first batsman in history to score 20000 ODI runs, let us gulp down some numbers. In his last 50 innings in ODIs, Kohli has scored an astounding 3401 runs.

And, in the year 2018, he averages a staggering 133.56 in the 50-over format.

It would be safe to assume that Kohli at least has another 7-8 years of cricket left in him, and if he can continue at the same rate, he could well become the first batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score 20000 ODI runs.