Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has showered praise on Virat Kohli after the veteran batter scored his 52nd ODI century against South Africa at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Sunday. Kohli scored a brilliant knock of 135 runs off just 120 balls as he batted at the top of his game.

The talisman was able to hit the ground running after Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed cheaply. Kohli timed the ball to perfection and played with an aggressive approach from the get-go.

“It’s not just me. Those who have played with him and against him all agree that he is the greatest in the one-day format,” Sunil Gavaskar said on JioHotstar at the mid-innings break.

Kohli scored 11 fours and seven sixes in his blistering knock and this was the 52nd ODI century for Virat Kohli as he went past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 51 centuries in the format. Kohli now has the most centuries in ODIs. 

Comparing Kohli with legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar, Gavaskar said, “Sachin has been right up there with 51 hundreds, but when you pass the great Sachin Tendulkar, then you know where you stand,” Gavaskar said. “It’s almost lonely at the top at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Kohli and Rohit Sharma added 136 runs for the second wicket, with the latter contributing 57 runs. 

On the other hand, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting recently rated Virat Kohli as the greatest ODI batter of all time.

Commenting on Ponting’s remarks, Gavaskar said, “It is rare—very rare—to get praise from an Australian. So if an Australian says he’s the best, then there’s no argument. Coming from Ponting, it isn’t casual applause; it is an endorsement forged from competitive respect.”

India were able to post 349 runs on the board after Kohli’s fine century.