Virat Kohli continues to rewrite cricket history. During his match-winning century against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, Kohli not only secured a crucial victory for India but also became the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs. His 100 off 119 balls* was a reminder of his dominance in world cricket, taking him past Ricky Ponting to become the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket, behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
Ricky Ponting Praises Kohli but Sets the Next Target
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was among those who lauded Kohli’s achievement. Speaking on the ICC Review Show, Ponting acknowledged Kohli’s brilliance but pointed out the massive gap between Kohli and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who still leads the charts with 34,357 international runs.
“Yeah, congratulations to him. I saw the result of the game, saw that Virat made a hundred, but I had no idea about the milestones along the way. He’s been a champion player, especially in the white-ball format. I’ve said before, and I stand by it, I haven’t seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli.”
Ponting also highlighted that surpassing Sangakkara (14,234 runs) is now just a matter of time but emphasized that catching Tendulkar will take something truly extraordinary.
“It’s crazy when you think about it. Virat has been so good for so long, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin. It speaks volumes about Tendulkar’s greatness and longevity. But with someone like Virat, you never write him off. If the hunger is there, he will keep going.”
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