Indian batter Virat Kohli missed out on his 49th ODI century against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, but his performance was enough to impress Pakistan legend Wasim Akram. Akram, who has been working as a pundit since the start of the World Cup, lavished praise on Kohli, calling him the “best in the world” and backing him to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most ODI tons.

“Looks at him, this guy is the best in the world. One or two centuries away from the half-century of centuries. Sachin Tendulkar ka record todega. I think usse bas ek dur rah gaya hai (Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar’s record, is just one shy of his tally). Once he settles in, he just plays shots at his will against the spin, against the medium pace, against the fast bowlers. A complete batter, one of the best in the world,” Wasim Akram said on A-Sports.

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Virat Kohli scored 88 runs off 94 balls against Sri Lanka, helping India post a formidable total of 357. He was dismissed in the 49th over, just 12 runs short of a century. Akram also praised Kohli’s experience and said that it was his knock that kept India in the game after losing two early wickets.

“Timely runs, because they lost their first wicket with just 4 runs on the board and that too in just the second ball of the match. And they lost their second wicket when India were at 193. Both have played very sensible innings,” Wasim Akram said.

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He further added, “Virat scored 88 with the help of 11 fours. You see, experience matters. When wickets fell, they kept scoring five an over, four an over. Virat’s strike rate was 93 but once that partnership was done it was game over for Sri Lanka.”

Kohli is currently tied with Tendulkar on 49 ODI centuries. If he manages to score one more century, he will become the all-time leading run-scorer in ODIs.