Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli began 2023 with a resounding start, registering his 45th ODI century in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The batting superstar equaled the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's incredible feat of hitting 20 centuries in a country, the joint-most by any batter.
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir acknowledged Kohli's record-equalling innings, noting that it was much more difficult to score runs during Sachin's era.
Virat Kohli snapped his century drought in ODIs against Bangladesh in Chattogram last month and followed it up with a century against Sri Lanka precisely a month later. Despite the visitors giving him two life, the batting ace was at his erratic best in the middle.
However, Gambhir, who shared the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar throughout his playing career, believes it was more difficult to score runs during Sachin's era because field limits were not as conducive to batters as they are today.
"You can't compare Virat with Sachin. In Sachin's era there weren't 5 players inside the 30-yard circle," Gambhir said to Star Sports.
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After the first innings, the cricketer-turned-expert did not hold back while criticizing the Sri Lankan bowlers. He was let down by the visitors' poor bowling performance against a strong Indian team.
"It was pretty ordinary bowling. The top three of the Indian batting line-up have got lots and lots of runs behind them. Rohit and Kohli obviously, Shubman also has the ability to get so many runs in international cricket. And how easy it was for Rohit and Shubman to get runs today. That was a surprise for me. You have to be consistent and Sri Lanka's bowling outing was very very disappointing for me," Gambhir added after the first innings.
Notably, India batted first and achieved a massive 373/7 in 50 overs. While Rohit Sharma (88) and Shubman Gill (70) both had half-centuries, Kohli smashed 113 runs off 87 balls.
READ| IND vs SL: Virat Kohli smashes 45th ODI century, equals Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI tons at home
