- By Namrata Vijay
- Sun, 07 Dec 2025 01:48 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs SA 3rd ODI: Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has reacted to Virat Kohli leveling Sachin Tendulkar's record of smashing 100 tons and has also supported the star batter to even play after the 2027 ODI World Cup. Gavaskar made these statements after Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Series award for his significant contribution, which helped the hosts to win this series by 2-1 in Vizag.
During an interaction on JioHotstar, Gavaskar lauded Kohli for his sublime form in this format and how Kohli has changed his batting by including elements of T20I.
Kohli scored a match-winning knock of 65 runs and helped the host chase the target of 271 runs with nine wickets remaining, on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal's first ODI hundred and Rohit Sharma's gritty knock of 75 runs.
“Why not? Even if he plays for three more years, he needs 16 hundreds from here,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying on Jiostar.
Kohli had scored 302 runs in a three-match ODI series against South Africa, which included two hundreds and one fifty. He has scored 84 tons in international cricket and is 16 less than Tendulkar's record.
It was the first time in his career in this format that he had scored more than 300 runs in a series.
“The way he has been batting, he has scored two hundreds in a three-match series. Going forward, even if he scores two more against New Zealand in a three-match series, he will reach 87. So the chances of him getting to 100 are big, very good. The way he has been batting, he is enjoying himself,” he said.
After retiring from the longest format, Kohli now plays just in ODIs, and he is enjoying his game and is batting freely.
‘KOHLI ENJOYED HIS TIME’
Gavaskar lauded Kohli for his brilliant knock and how Kohli doesn't give an inch to the opponent.
“The way he batted today (Saturday), knowing the match was almost in India’s pocket—he knew a good foundation had been laid by the openers and that batters in good form were to follow,” he added.
“So he enjoyed himself in the middle. Very rarely have we seen this version of Virat Kohli—the T20 avatar—in ODI cricket. He played his shots from the second ball, and not one of them was reckless. Can anyone tell me whether there was an inside-edge or an outside-edge in his innings?” he said.
The Men in Blue will be playing 35 ODIs from now on till the 2027 World Cup, where they will aim to reach the summit clash. Kohli will try to smash a ton after almost two innings if he wants to achieve the milestone of smashing 100 hundreds.
Since Kohli is enjoying another peak in his ODI career at 36. He has smashed four more fifties and three tons in his last 10 knocks.
He ended by scoring 651 runs after playing in 13 matches at a staggering average of 65.10.
He is all set to play for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this month, and then he will be playing a three-match ODI series against New Zealand next month.
“See, he has a month’s break before the New Zealand ODIs. It remains to be seen what happens to his form in these few days. If that break was not there, I am sure he would score two or three hundreds in the series,” Gavaskar concluded.