Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has reignited the Sachin Tendulkar vs. Virat Kohli debate, making a bold claim that Kohli is the superior chaser in ODI cricket. While acknowledging that both are among the greatest ODI batters of all time, Manjrekar believes Kohli has been more effective in high-pressure chases, consistently steering India to victory.
Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar highlighted how Tendulkar was more comfortable setting targets, whereas Kohli thrives when chasing. “One major difference between the two is that I think Virat Kohli is a better chaser than Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar preferred batting first and was a certainty against the new ball,” Sanjay Manjrekar stated. “But Virat has chased down targets and remained unbeaten far more often. Tendulkar has a few such games, but not as many as Kohli.”
At 36, Kohli continues to rewrite record books, recently scoring his 82nd international century in India’s emphatic six-wicket win over Pakistan. Though he had struggled for form in the Test series against New Zealand earlier, his white-ball performances remain stellar.
ALSO READ: Michael Clarke Predicts India To Win Champions Trophy 2025 Final Against Australia
During India’s Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan in Dubai, Kohli achieved yet another milestone, becoming the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs. He surpassed Tendulkar’s record, reaching the landmark in just 287 innings—significantly faster than Tendulkar (350 innings) and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (378 innings).
This feat makes Kohli only the third cricketer in history to surpass the 14,000-run mark in ODIs, after Tendulkar (18,246 runs) and Sangakkara (14,234 runs). Interestingly, both Kohli and Tendulkar reached their 14,000th ODI run against Pakistan, a remarkable coincidence. Kohli needed just 15 runs to reach the milestone and did so in style, driving Haris Rauf for a boundary through covers in the 13th over.
ALSO READ: KL Rahul Dismisses Injury Concerns Ahead Of India’s Clash Against New Zealand
This achievement follows his record-breaking feat in September 2023, when he became the fastest to 13,000 ODI runs, also against Pakistan, in Colombo during the Asia Cup. With Kohli continuing to shatter records, the debate over who is India’s greatest ODI batter remains as intense as ever.
