Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli - The Numbers Game

The year was 2012. India were taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in an Asia Cup match and out in the middle were a master and his disciple. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli were making batting look ridiculously easy as India was on course to chase down Pakistan’s 338. And with the score at 133/2 Sachin Tendulkar departed against the run of play for 52. This would turn out to be the master blaster’s last ODI in Indian colours as Tendulkar announced his retirement from the format in December 2012 without playing another game. While this ODI is remembered by millions of Tendulkar fans as the last which their hero played on Indian colours, this match is also remembered as the match where Kohli scored a breathtaking 183 to help India overhaul the target of 338.

When the great master retired in 2012, he had retired with a mind-boggling aggregate of 18426 runs with an incredible 49 hundreds. To put those staggering achievements in some perspective, when Tendulkar retired in 2012, he was leading his next competitor(Kumar Sangakkara) in terms of runs scored by a staggering 4192 runs and his next best competitor in terms of centuries scored by 19 tons(Ponting was second placed in 2012 with 30 tons). Frankly Speaking, no one would have ever thought that there would come a day when most of Tendulkar’s records might be in danger.

Fast forward to 2018. Virat Kohli has already become the quickest to cross 10000 runs in ODI cricket. He has also scored a mind-boggling 38 hundreds and trails Tendulkar by just 11 tons. While we can always argue that Tendulkar scored his runs against tougher opponents in more difficult conditions, the scope of this article is to confine ourselves to Statistics- i.e the numbers game. There can be innumerable debates comparing Kohli and Tendulkar and many conclusions can be obtained. So, in this article, we look at Kohli and Tendulkar from a purely statistical viewpoint.

So, here we look at what are the records that Kohli can and cannot break held by Tendulkar in ODI cricket

Records that can be broken by Kohli:

#1 Most number of hundreds

The way Kohli has been playing and also with the rules overwhelmingly in favour of batsmen, it is only matter of time before Kohli breaks this long-standing record of Tendulkar. Kohli has already scored an incredible 38 ODI hundreds and going in the same rate, it will probably take another 3-4 years for Kohli to notch up his 50th ODI hundred and go past the little master.

#2 Most number of runs

As of today, Kohli has 10199 runs in ODI cricket. He has scored a mind-boggling 3369 runs in his last 49 ODI matches. It would be safe to assume that given Kohli’s fitness and his hunger for runs, Kohli will play at least for another 7-8 years. And, if he does so, there is every chance that Kohli will overhaul Tendulkar’s tally of 18426 runs.

#3 Most number of runs in a calendar year.

The most number of runs to be ever scored in a calendar year belongs to Sachin Tendulkar. The little master had scored 1894 runs in the year 1998. This was also the year Tendulkar played his most famous ODI inning-the desert storm innings against Australia. While the maximum runs Kohli has scored in a calendar year is 1381 runs in the year 2011, Kohli still has plenty of cricket left in him. If India play anywhere between 25-30 ODIs a year and going by the form that Kohli has been with the bat, it is only a matter of time Kohli breaks this record of Tendulkar as well.

#4 Most runs in a single batting position

Tendulkar also holds the record for the most runs scored in a single batting position. He has scored a record 15310 from 340 innings Opening the batting with 45 hundreds and 75 fifties. Kohli has already scored 8106 runs from 155 innings including 31 hundreds and 38 fifties at No.3. Assuming that Kohli continues to bat at No.3 for India, this record of Tendulkar too can be surpassed by Kohli.

Tendulkar after scoring his 100th International hundred

Records that Kohli can't break

#1 Most number of ODI matches

In a career spanning almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar played an incredible 463 matches for India. Kohli currently has played 215 matches and will turn 30 next month.It is highly unlikely that Kohli will go on to play another 249 matches. So, this record of Tendulkar will stand the test of time.

#2 Most number of Man of the Man Awards in ODI cricket

Sachin Tendulkar has won the Man of the Match award a staggering 62 times in ODI cricket. Kohli, on the other hand, has won the Man of the Match award 30 times. It is safe to assume that Kohli is almost halfway through his career and so, it would be difficult for even Kohli to go past Tendulkar’s tally of 62 MOM awards.

#3 Most Number of fifties in ODI cricket

Sachin Tendulkar leads the list of most number of fifties in ODI cricket with a staggering 96 fifties. The next highest on the list is Kumar Sangakkara with 93 half centuries. Virat Kohli has scored 48 fifties from 215 matches. The reason why Kohli cannot break this record of Sachin is Kohli generally converts his fifty into a hundred. So, if Kohli continues his tremendous century making spree, then this record will continue to belong to Tendulkar!

#4 Most number of World Cups played

Sachin Tendulkar started his career at the age of 16 and continued till 40. He played his first world cup in the year 1992 and his sixth and final world cup in 2011. Kohli has played just 2 world cups so far. The maximum that Kohli can play is 5 world cups. It is next to impossible for Kohli to play six World Cups for India because he played is the first World Cup only when he was 22.

So, there you have it. There can be many more records that I may have missed, but these are some of the records I feel Kohli can and cannot go past Tendulkar.