Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that Virat Kohli has been working extra hard to equal Sachin Tendulkar's record, and it came on the perfect day for his birthday on November 5, 2023.
Kohli on Sunday, November 5, hammered his 49th ODI hundred in the Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa to equal Tendulkar’s long-standing record of most centuries in the format at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
After the right-hander achieved the incredible milestone, Ponting said that the former Indian skipper will now be a lot relieved and will now play with greater freedom as the World Cup 2023 enters into the business end.
Ricky Ponting was quoted as saying by ICC: “That might be the monkey off his back now. I think he has been working extra hard to equal Sachin's record. That's done now and it has happened at a really good time at the tournament for him.”
Ponting also feels Kohli should be considered the greatest batter of all time.
He continued, “One more game to go and then they head into the semi-finals. It was an almost perfect day for Virat and a great day for India. There is no doubt he is the absolute best and I have said that for a long time. He didn't need to equal Sachin's record.”
Ponting signed off by saying, “He doesn't need to break the record. If you look at his overall batting record it is incredible. To think that he got 49 ODI hundreds and equalled Sachin and in 175 fewer innings is unbelievable.”
(With ICC/ANI Inputs)
