New Delhi: Virat Kohli reached the 15,000-run mark in ODIs 74 innings faster than Sachin Tendulkar, but the milestone alone does not settle the debate over who has been the greater batter in the format.
The comparison needs context, as the ODI landscape changed significantly during Tendulkar’s more than two-decade career. Rules, playing conditions and the overall character of the 50-over game have evolved considerably.
Both Kohli and Tendulkar have defined their respective eras with remarkable consistency and excellence. Their records can be compared statistically, but judging their impact solely through numbers overlooks the very different periods in which they dominated.
But is Kohli a bigger phenomenon than Tendulkar in ODIs? In some cases, yes, but such a comparison can never be linear.
But both of them have a couple of landmarks to their credit, which are unlikely to be touched by anyone else in the near future.
Kohli’s number of hundreds, which is 55 and still counting, and Tendulkar’s quantum of runs, 18,426. Kohli has 15080 runs to his credit in the format and he can’t surpass Tendulkar given the dwindling ODI count in the calendar.
Tendulkar vs Kohli: Numbers and Beyond
In terms of innings played — Kohli had reached 15,000 ODI runs in his 303rd innings (315th match) while Tendulkar had reached the same milestone in 377 innings (387 matches).
Even more striking is that Kohli took 1578 lesser deliveries than Tendulkar to hit the mark.
Tendulkar faced 17,528 balls to reach 15,000 runs, while Kohli faced 15,950 balls to reach the same milestone.
Kohli played at least nine per cent fewer balls, indicating he scored the runs at a faster clip than the ‘Master Blaster’.
Kohli’s average runs per innings compared to Tendulkar’s is also significantly higher.
Kohli’s runs-per-innings figure stands at 49.5 compared to Tendulkar’s 39.9.
The batting average (when unbeaten knocks are computed) is 58.8 for Kohli compared to Tendulkar’s 44.24, which was considered to be brilliant for his peak era — between 1995-2011.
Kohli’s strike rate of 94 plus is also better than Tendulkar’s 86. Until he reached 15,000 runs, Tendulkar (41 tons) had 14 fewer hundreds than Kohli (55).
This means Kohli, the greatest ODI batter in the last two decades, scored a hundred per 5.5 innings (303) while it took Tendulkar 9.2 innings per century (41 out of 377).
Putting numbers in broader context
The Kohli vs Tendulkar comparison is certainly a popular debate, but whenever the numbers overwhelmingly points at Delhi man’s greatness over the Mumbai icon, one should quietly add another variable which lends a different dimension to the whole debate.
An important point to be noted is that Tendulkar featured in about 40 to 50 red ball ODIs in which early morning starts favoured the swing bowlers, making batting a lot more difficult.
The number of rule changes that have forced ODIs to undergo a sea change from the time Tendulkar made his ODI debut in Gujranwala on December 18, 1989 to the high-calibre knock that Kohli played on September 27, 2026.
For the better part of Tendulkar’s 463 ODI games, there was only one ball used during the entire 50 overs. Also, for a majority of Tendulkar’s playing days, fielding restrictions applied only in the first 15 overs, compared to the three power-plays that benefit batting teams currently.
Also Tendulkar, for his first 69 games, never opened or batted at No. 3, and his first hundred came when he opened in his 74th ODI in Sri Lanka.
Around 1800 of his 18,426 runs — that’s 10 per cent of his runs — were scored when he batted either at Nos 5 or 6 with not many overs left and no field restrictions to take advantage of.
Also the white ball would get softer and discoloured in sub-continental conditions, requiring more power and skill to clear the ropes.
Then came two specific ODI rule changes (once in 2011 and another in 2015) that coincided with Kohli’s emergence as a modern-day 50-over legend.
First was one two new white balls from both ends, which effectively meant that one ball would only be 25 overs old during the course of a game. The colour remained intact, the ball remained harder, and came onto the bat nicely.
from 2014 to 2019, Kohli was raking in ODI hundreds for fun. In 2015, there came another rule change and it proved decisive.
Between overs 11 and 40, only four fielders were allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
Tendulkar never had the freedom of batting with such fielding restrictions during the middle overs and there would inevitably be five outside the circle.
That removal of an extra fielder opened one vacant scoring area and Kohli wasn’t ever going to let that opportunity go.