cricket

Updated: Mar 02, 2019 10:42 IST

Skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma will be up against each other to better Sachin Tendulkar’s century record in the upcoming five-match ODI series against Australia. The first ODI will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Both Rohit and Kohli enjoy stellar batting records against the Aussies and the duo will look to add another record to their kitty in the ODI series.

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar currently holds the record of most centuries by a player from either side during India-Australia matches. The ‘Master Blaster’ scored eight centuries against the five-time World Champions during the course of his illustrious career.

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Rohit has seven tons to his name against Australia in 31 ODI innings. While as for Kohli, he has scored six centuries against the same opposition and is tied with former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting in this elite list.

Both Rohit and Kohli will have the opportunity to go past Tendulkar’s record in the series. While Rohit needs just one to equal Tendulkar’s record, it’s a bit harder for Kohli, who needs two 100+ scores to level former India cricketer’s record.

Past records suggest Kohli is better equipped to end Tendulkar’s supremacy in this particular list as he has a knack of scoring big if he manages to settle himself in the middle. The last five times he has gone past the 50-run mark at home, he has converted them into a big hundreds. Kohli did it twice against New Zealand in 2017 and then thrice against Windies last year.

As for Rohit, he has amassed 1778 runs in 31 ODIs against Australia which is the most runs for him against any opposition in the 50-over format. Also, he has smashed seven tons (including a double ton) and five fifties at a conversion rate of 58.33 %, which is by far his best against any team.

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So, it will be interesting to see which of these two heavyweights will be the first to go past Tendulkar’s record as there is hardly anything to separate the two hard-hitters of the game