Can Virat Kohli break Sachin Tendulkar's record of maximum ODI centuries?

Kohli has scored 23 ODI centuries from 165 matches compared to Tendulkar who scored 49 tons from 463 ODIs.

New Delhi: Despite having witnessed a slight slump in form of late, Virat Kohli was back to his best in the fourth ODI against South Africa as he slammed his 23rd ODI ton.

In the list of batsmen who have scored maximum number of ODI centuries, Kohli lies at the fifth position behind Sachin Tendulkar (49), Ricky Ponting (30), Sanath Jayasuriya (28) and Kumar Sangakkara (25).

As Kohli continues his good run, the burning question once again is – whether he can surpass Tendulkar's record of maximum ODI centuries? As we can see, there is a huge difference between Tendulkar and Ponting, a difference of 19 ODI centuries.

Not to forget, Kohli has played just 165 ODIs compared to Tendulkar who represented India in 463 ODIs. Also, Kohli is just 26-year-old and can easily play for the next six to eight years, at least.

Hashim Amla too, has a terrific record when it comes to scoring centuries, as the South African veteran has so far scored 21 centuries from just 122 ODIs. But Amla is six years older to Kohli and it remains to be seen how long he can maitain the fitness levels required to survive in modern day cricket.

Kohli has often hailed Tendulkar as the role model who inspired him to take up cricket and it would be a challenge for him to surpass the legend's historic record.

Having said that, looking at his incredible fitness and insatiable hunger to score runs, if there is a cricketer who looks to breakTendulkar's record in the years to come, it is Virat Kohli.