Will Virat Kohli rewrite history and surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 centuries? Sunil Gavaskar answers

If one word could sum up Virat Kohli’s batting style in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, it would be ‘authoritarian’. With an impressive tally of 302 runs in three innings, a remarkable strike rate and two centuries, Kohli displayed a new level of excellence in his first international outing on home soil in 10 months.

Kohli, who now has 84 international centuries, including 53 in ODIs, has consistently shown that he is perfectly suited to the 50-over format. Although he has stepped back from the other two formats of the game, he plans to continue playing ODI cricket for the foreseeable future, which could lead to more centuries and reaching that coveted triple-digit milestone.

To achieve this monumental task, Kohli will need to maintain his current form for the rest of his career, but he has the support of Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar in his quest.

In a discussion on JioHotstar, Gavaskar expressed his belief that with enough time, Kohli will definitely reach Sachin Tendulkar’s remarkable record.

“Why not? Even if he plays for three more years, he needs 16 hundreds from here,” Gavaskar said live. “With the way he bats, he has scored two hundreds in a three-match series. Going forward, even if he scores two more in a three-match series against New Zealand, he will reach 87. So, he has a very good chance of reaching 100.”

Kohli reminded fans of his dominant personality a decade ago; He was the one who could tackle the bowlers with his aggressive boundary strikes right from the start and could also control the pace of his deliveries. Kohli, who scored centuries in both Ranchi and Raipur, was in his best form in Vizag and hit three sixes and six fours to secure victory in his unbeaten 65.

“The way he batted today (Saturday), knowing that the match was almost in India’s pocket; he knew that a good foundation had been laid in the opener and batsmen in good form had to follow it,” explained Gavaskar. “So he had fun in the middle. We have very rarely seen this version of Virat Kohli (his T20 avatar) in ODI cricket.”

“He bowled his shots from the second ball and none of them were reckless. Can someone tell me if there was an inside edge or outside edge to his shots?” said Gavaskar.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma played their last matches for India in 2025. The next meeting of the legendary duo will only be seen in 2026.

Also read| Watch: Virat Kohli seeks blessings at Simhachalam Devasthanam temple in Vizag after India’s ODI series win against South Africa