IND vs WI: Three Sachin Tendulkar records that Virat Kohli can break during India vs West Indies ODI series

India star Virat Kohli returns to international action against the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kohli remains unbeaten in two ODI innings at Thiruvananthapuram, a venue that could suit a record-breaking knock.

A few records are within his reach that he could potentially breach during the West Indies series.

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: 3 major batting records at stake in India vs West Indies ODIs

Virat Kohli is back in action in India colours, and he will be aiming at a handful of Sachin Tendulkar milestones, as the Men in Blue take the field at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram against West Indies on Sunday afternoon.

Against West Indies specifically, Kohli's numbers already read like a highlight reel with 2,261 runs across 43 matches and 41 innings, at an average of 66.50, studded with nine hundreds and 11 fifties.

If we take a look at his overall ODI career, Kohli sits second only to Tendulkar's staggering 18,426 runs, with 14,941 runs of his own from 314 matches and 302 innings, averaging 58.59 with 54 centuries and 79 half-centuries, including a best of 183. That puts him just 59 runs shy of becoming the second batter in the format's history, and the second Indian, to cross the 15,000-run mark.

Moreover, Kohli is also two centuries away from breaking Tendulkar's mark of 42 international hundreds on home soil. And there's a third home record in his sights as well: Tendulkar's tally of 6,976 ODI runs at home, compiled across 164 matches.

Kohli isn't far off at all, sitting on 6,867 runs from 130 matches and 127 innings, at an average of 62.42, with 27 hundreds and 36 fifties, leaving him just 110 runs short.

What is Virat Kohli's record in ODIs in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala?

Virat Kohli boasts an unblemished ODI record at Greenfield International Stadium, having never been dismissed in his two outings at the venue.

He debuted at the ground on November 1, 2018, finishing unbeaten on 33 against the West Indies.

His crown jewel in Thiruvananthapuram arrived on January 15, 2023, when he plundered an undefeated 166 against Sri Lanka. It is the venue's all-time highest individual score across all international formats.

Form-wise, nothing is suggesting a slowdown either. In six innings so far this year, Kohli has piled up 384 runs at an average of 64.00 and a strike rate above 106, including one century and three fifties.

These are numbers that suggest these milestones could tumble sooner rather than later, possibly even during this very series.

There's something almost poetic about Kohli chasing down Tendulkar's records at a ground where he's never once been dismissed, as it feels less like coincidence and more like a venue tailor-made for a big statement.

What's most striking here isn't just the proximity to these numbers, but how effortlessly current his form looks while chasing them; a strike rate above 106 in ODIs at this stage of his career suggests he isn't simply accumulating milestones; he's still playing attacking cricket.

Records against Tendulkar's name have always carried extra weight in Indian cricket discourse, given how untouchable many of his numbers once seemed.

Watching Kohli methodically close in on several of them in the same series, rather than one at a time, makes this stretch of matches exciting, regardless of how the results eventually shake out for either side.

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