Indian captain Virat Kohli will be on the verge of going past former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, as he prepares to face England in the ODI series. The three-match series begins on March 23, with all matches taking place in Pune.
With 70 international centuries, Virat Kohli currently stands at the third position in the qualifying list, behind Sachin Tendulkar (100 centuries) and Ricky Ponting (71 centuries).
If the Indian captain scores two centuries in the series, he will become the second-highest century-scorer in the history of international cricket.
Here is the list of the players with most international centuries (top-5).
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 100 centuries
- Ricky Ponting (Australia/ICC) - 71 centuries
- VIRAT KOHLI (INDIA) - 70 centuries*
- Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka/Asia/ICC) - 63 centuries
- Jacques Kallis (South Africa/Africa/ICC) - 62 centuries
Among captains, Virat has yet another chance to overtake Ponting with two centuries in the series. Kohli currently has 21 ODI centuries as the captain of the side -- only one behind Ponting.
At home, Ponting has 10 international centuries, while Kohli has 9.
Most ODI centuries as captain:
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 22
- VIRAT KOHLI (INDIA) - 21*
- AB de Villiers (South Africa) - 13
- Sourav Ganguly (India/Asia) - 11
- Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) - 10
The Indian captain also has a chance of surpassing India great Sachin Tendulkar in the ODI series. With two tons, he will go past the 'Master Blaster' for most ODI centuries at home.
Tendulkar currently holds the record with 20 ODI centuries.
Here's the list:
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 20 centuries
- VIRAT KOHLI (INDIA) - 19 centuries*
- Hashim Amla (South Africa) - 14 centuries
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 13 centuries
- Ross Taylor (New Zealand) - 12 centuries
Interestingly, Virat Kohli and Ross Taylor are the only active cricketers in the top-5 in all the above-mentioned lists.
