Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: The titans of the 10000 runs club

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter) Indian captain Virat Kohli became the latest member of the 10,000 runs club when he scored 81 against the Windies in the second match of the five-ODI series in Vishakhapatnam on October 24. He became the fifth Indian and 13th batsman overall to accomplish this feat. However, in terms of matches, he is the fastest to make it to the club and smashed the record of the previous fastest – the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: A comparison Kohli completed his 10,000th ODI run in 213 matches and 205 innings. Tendulkar, on the other hand, took 266 matches and 259 innings to do the same. The former was a few days short of turning 30 at the time of achieving the record. Tendulkar was less than a month short of turning 28 when he scaled the mountain (he was the first to complete 10,000 runs in ODIs) on March 31, 2001. Both hit tons in the game where they completed 10000 ODI runs Another striking similarity is that both Kohli and Tendulkar hit hundreds in the same game in which they completed 10,000 runs (they are in fact the only two of the 13 batsmen to do so). While Kohli remained unbeaten on 157 in the game against the Windies in Vishakhapatnam, Tendulkar had scored 139 off 125 balls against Australia in the match in Indore. Like the current five-ODI series between India and Windies, that was also a five-ODI series between India and Australia. However, while India failed to win the match in case of Kohli (it ended in a tie), Sourav Ganguly-led Team India thrashed Australia by 118 runs in the match in which Tendulkar scored his 10,000th ODI run. Both the batsmen were, however, chosen as the man of the match on the respective occasions. Number of hundreds while entering 10k club: Kohli leads by 9 Kohli has a far better record compared to Tendulkar when it comes to the number of ODI hundreds scored at the time of reaching the 10k club. The batsman hit his 37th ODI ton while completing 10,000 runs while Tendulkar had scored only his 28th when he touched the milestone. Kohli has scored far more centuries outside Asia As a member of the 10k club, Kohli has scored 16 hundreds at home and 21 overseas. Tendulkar’s corresponding figures are 12 and 16, respectively. Outside Asia, however, Kohli has scored 11 centuries while Tendulkar, around the same time, had scored only three. The number of centuries Kohli hit batting second as a member of the 10k club is 22 while for Tendulkar, the number was 12. Outside Asia, Kohli scored seven centuries batting second while Tendulkar hit the three-figure mark batting second outside Asia only twice. Kohli has four 150-plus scores; Tendulkar had one Kohli has scored four 150-plus runs at the moment with the highest being 183 against Pakistan in Dhaka in 2012 (it was Tendulkar’s final ODI). Tendulkar, on the other hand, scored just one 150-plus innings when he became the member of the 10k club and it was 186 not out against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999. Kohli has hit 13 unbeaten tons till now while Tendulkar had just eight when he achieved the feat. Tons against opponents: In terms of opponents, Kohli has hit the maximum number of hundreds against Sri Lanka (eight) at the time of becoming a member of the elite club. He has hit six against the Windies, five each against Australia and New Zealand, four against South Africa, three each against England and Bangladesh, two against Pakistan and one against Zimbabwe. In comparison, Tendulkar had scored the most number of hundreds against Australia and Sri Lanka (six each), Zimbabwe (five), Kenya and New Zealand (three each), Pakistan and South Africa (two each) and Windies (one). He was yet to score an ODI ton against England and Bangladesh when he entered the elite club. The battle of the averages and strike-rates: Cricket has undergone a sea change in the time between when Tendulkar and Kohli hit their respective 10,000 runs. The batsmen are a far more fierce force now compared to when Tendulkar used to take the stance. Kohli at the moment averages 59.62 which is more than 17 points higher than that of his predecessor when he completed 10,000 runs (42.63). In terms of strike-rate also, Kohli does some six-points better than the former great. His strike rate now is 92.51 while that of Tendulkar till 10k was 86.52. Tendulkar’s figures improved after he started opening However, one has to take into consideration the fact that unlike Kohli, who has played throughout as a middle-order batsman, Tendulkar had played his first 66 innings as a lower middle-order/middle-order batsman. His figures had improved by far after he shifted to the opening slots (had an average of 46 plus and strike rate of 89-plus in the 193 innings he played as an opener). Though Kohli has a far better performance as a chaser of targets, Tendulkar didn’t do too badly when he chased as the opener. He averaged above 50 and had a strike rate of 94-plus which is 0.14 points better than Kohli who has an average of 68-plus as a chaser. However, one must also take into account that Kohli has excelled as a batsman even while setting new bars with his captaincy record, something which Tendulkar could not. Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: The titans of the 10000 runs club

Virat Kohli got to 10,000-run mark in 54 fewer innings.