Top 5 contenders for 50 international centuries after Kohli

Virat Kohli slammed his 18th Test hundred on day 5 of the first test match against Sri Lanka to join an elite list of players with 50 international hundreds. Considered as one of the most prestigious landmarks in International cricket, Kohli reached the milestone in 61 test matches and 202 One Day Internationals.

The Indian skipper is eighth on the list behind Sachin Tendulkar (100), Ricky Ponting(71), Kumar Sangakkara (63), Jacques Kallis (62), Hashim Amla (54), Mahela Jayawardene (54) and Brian Lara (53). Tendulkar has the most number of International hundreds and Kohli is the only present-day cricketer with even a remote chance of beating that stellar record.

Let's see who are the top 5 contenders to reach 50 international hundreds.

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#5 Joe Root (England) - 23 international hundreds

Joe Root is one of the most gifted and consistent modern day cricketers and the youngest English batsman to score a century in the ODI World Cup.

With an average of more than 50 in both test matches and ODIs, Root has scored 23 international hundreds (13 in 60 test matches and 10 in 97 One Day Internationals). The England test skipper has an excellent conversation rate and at 26 years of age, he has his best years ahead of him.

Root has been in excellent form this year, scoring 1855 international runs in 2017. If he stays fit, he can play, at the very least, 60 more test matches and 100 more ODIs, giving him ample time to reach the coveted milestone.

Sachin Tendulkar's record may be too far for Joe Root but the England captain can certainly finish in top 3 by the time he retires.

#4 Kane Williamson (New Zealand) - 26 international hundreds

Since his debut in 2010, Kane Williamson has been touted as the next big thing in New Zealand cricket. The New Zealand batsman is one of the most technically correct batsmen playing the game right now and captains his national team in all three formats of the game.

Since his maiden hundred in 2010, Williamson has scored 17 tons from 61 test matches and nine tons from 117 One Day Internationals (ODI). With a total of 26 international hundreds, he is already on the list of modern-day batting stalwarts. 14 of those 26 hundreds have come in foreign conditions, a testimony to the fact that he is a special player.

At 27, the New Zealand skipper has a lot of gas left in his tank to reach 50 international hundreds.

#3 Ross Taylor (New Zealand) - 33 international hundreds

Ross Taylor is the second Kiwi on this list. The former New Zeland captain is an unorthodox player and a completely different batsman from Williamson and Root.

Taylor has scored 33 international hundreds (16 in 81 test matches and 17 in 193 One Day Internationals) so far in his career. These are excellent numbers for a batsman who plays mostly in the middle order for New Zealand.

At 33 years of age, Taylor may be nearing the end of his career but his fighting hundred against India in Mumbai last month showed he is still one of the match winners for New Zealand.

Considering NZ do not play a lot of games in a season, like India or England, Taylor only has an outside chance of reaching the milestone.

#2 David Warner (Australia) - 34 international hundreds

The aggressive left-hander from New South Wales has been the in-form player for Australia over the last two seasons. The Australian vice-captain has a knack for scoring quick hundreds and doesn't prefer tweaking his approach according to the format.

David Warner has 20 hundreds from just 66 Test matches and 14 from 101 One Day Internationals (ODI), making it a total of 34 international hundreds.

Warner is good at converting his 50s to 100s, with a conversion rate of 45%, which is phenomenal. At just 31 years of age and supremely fit, Warner is looking at a minimum of five more years in international cricket.

He has been in supreme form this calendar year with 1313 runs so far and with the Ashes starting in a day, expect Warner to add at least a couple more hundreds in the next few weeks. One of the strongest candidates to reach 50 international hundreds.

#1 AB de Villiers (South Africa) - 46 international hundreds

AB de Villiers is one of the most exciting batsmen in world cricket and if not for his injuries, he would have already crossed this landmark. He averages more than 50 in tests and ODIs and has scored 46 international hundreds (25 from 225 One Day Internationals and 21 from 106 test matches).

The 33-year-old holds the record for fastest ODI fifty (16 balls) and hundred (31 balls). With India scheduled to tour South Africa in January 2018, expect De Villiers to reach the milestone against the Men in blue.

He is in good shape to play the 2019 ODI World Cup in England & Wales as well and if he plays the way we all know, he may end up with a lot more than 50 international hundreds.