1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar made a big statement about Virat Kohli, highlighting that the talismanic India batter's hunger to score centuries was insatiable. The legendary cricketer's comments about Virat Kohli came after the latter's 50th ODI hundred in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

“The next best (among active players) is Rohit Sharma with 31. So it just tells you the vast gap between him and the rest,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

 

“People are run-hungry, he is century-hungry. And his hunger for centuries is insatiable and that is how it should be. Every batter worth his salt should put a minimum price of 100 against his name,” he emphasized.

 

“That is what he is doing in every match. In this tournament itself, he could have got three more centuries. A couple of times he has gone past 50 and got out after that and so he has been in phenomenal form. And he has made every match count,” Sunil Gavaskar continued. 

Earlier this week, Virat Kohli became the first cricketer to score 50 centuries in the 50-over format, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 49.

 

He completed his third hundred in the current edition of the World Cup against the Kiwis in the “City of Dreams” after his tons against Bangladesh and South Africa earlier in the prestigious tournament.

 

The ex-India captain, who has been in red-hot form in the World Cup, looked scratchy at the start of his knock after arriving at the crease following the fall of Rohit Sharma.

 

But Rohit Sharma should be credited for allowing Virat Kohli to build his innings as he gave India a lightning-quick start.

 

Rohit Sharma came out all guns blazing at the start of the Indian innings, racing to 47 off 28 balls with the help of four sixes and an equal number of boundaries.

 

Rohit Sharma's blitzkrieg meant that the Men in Blue raced to 71/0 in just over eight overs before the India captain departed.

 

After Rohit Sharma perished, Virat Kohli joined Shubman Gill in the middle.

 

With Shubman Gill firing on all cylinders, the 35-year-old bided his time but kept the scoreboard ticking with singles, doubles, and occasional boundaries.

 

Slowly but steadily, Virat Kohli moved closer and closer to his 50th ODI hundred.

 

As things looked perfect, drama unfolded with Virat Kohli in his 90s. First, the New Zealand fielders missed a few opportunities to send him back to the pavilion, dropping half catches, and second, Virat Kohli suffered cramps.

 

Nonetheless, Virat Kohli got up and running and eventually brought up his ton in 106 balls.

 

After completing his 80th hundred in international cricket, Virat Kohli put his foot on the accelerator before getting dismissed for 117.

 

What's remarkable about Virat Kohli is that he brought up his 50th three-figure score in the 50-over format in 279 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar needed 451 essays for his 49.

 

Furthermore, King Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's other record as he became the highest run-scorer in a single edition of the World Cup.

 

With his 117 against the Black Caps, he took his tally to 711 runs in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar made 673 in the 2003 edition in South Africa.

 

It was Virat Kohli's eighth fifty-plus score in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, making him the first man to do so in a single edition of the quadrennial event.

 

Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan had seven such scores in 2003 and 2019, respectively.

 

Meanwhile, former India coach Ravi Shastri made a bold claim about the talismanic Virat Kohli, stating that he would break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 centuries in international cricket.

 

“Who would have thought when Sachin Tendulkar got 100 hundreds that anyone would come close? And, he's got 80; 80 international hundreds, 50 of them in the one-day game, which makes him the highest. Unreal,” the ex-India coach said on The ICC Review.

 

“Nothing's impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. His next 10 innings, you might see another five hundreds. You have three formats of the game, and he's part of all those formats. To think that he still has three or four years of cricket ahead of him is simply mind-boggling,” Ravi Shastri noted.

 

“I think his composure, his body language, his calmness at the crease (in this WC). I have seen him come out in previous World Cups where he's like a cat on a hot tin roof. He wanted to get on with it straight away. None of that sort here. He's taken his time, marked his guard, soaked the pressure, given himself time, and understood his role of batting deep in the innings. He's just been wonderful,” he signed off. 

 

Yet Virat Kohli earned the ultimate praise from India great Gundappa Viswanath, who stressed he did not expect him to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of ODI centuries.

 

“Sometime back, I had said that if at all anyone can come closer to Sachin's 100s, it will be Kohli. I didn't expect that he is going to break it,” Gundappa Viswanath said in an interview with news agency PTI.

 

“His consistency, I mean, all are talking about his hundreds but the way he has been getting 70s and 80s, any batsman will take that. It is (only) because of his consistency that he got 50-plus scores. The way he approaches his cricket, he has a lot of cricket in him,” he added.

 

“There are not many who can come closer, even though Rohit (Sharma) has around 30 plus a hundred, so (there is) still a long way (to go) for him, but rest I can't pinpoint somebody is there to come close. He has achieved one hell of a thing scoring one more than Sachin,” Gundappa Viswanath elaborated.

 

“I am not comparing him with Sachin because they are two different cricketers, (there are) no comparisons but both are great, absolutely legends. The best part is they know what they are doing. Sachin knew what he was doing and Kohli said he is my guru and he is going along the way,” the Indian legend mentioned.

 

Like Virat Kohli, India's bowlers earned praise from Sunil Gavaskar as he credited them for the Rohit Sharma-led team's success in the World Cup. 

 

Indians remain undefeated in the competition and face Australia in Sunday's final in Ahmedabad.

“Very special and they are all different. Bumrah comes in with an action that is not in the coaching books but just so effective. Now he has added the outswinger to his repertoire which makes it even more difficult to score off him. Then the straight seam bowling of Mohammed Shami, the accuracy and pace with which he bowls. And then, the big heart of Mohammed Siraj. That has really kept the opposition batters on tenterhooks,” the 1983 World Cup winner opined.

 

“Yes there will be the odd partnership but they have been the ones who have come back and struck when that happens. And in the middle overs, you have Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav not just stopping runs but taking wickets as well and setting the opposition back. It really has been an attack to remember. Generally in a tournament batters might win you the matches, as we saw with Maxwell. But it is the bowlers who will win you the tournaments,” Sunil Gavaskar summed up.