Not as good as Sachin in batting technique, not calm on field; yet there is a reason why Virat is able to perform better than his teammates even at 35

India's star player Virat Kohli recently created history by becoming the only batter to score 50 centuries in One Day Internationals. He achieved this feat by hitting a century against New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. Kohli achieved this feat in the presence of his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who was in the gallery cheering for Team India.

Right from the start of Virat's international career, fans used to hail him as Sachin's successor. It is his ability to perform equally well in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s that gifted him the label of Sachin's successor. There was a time when all the hopes of Indian cricket fans rested on the shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar. Now, fans are counting on Virat Kohli to guide the Indian team to greater heights. Virat may not be as good as Sachin when it comes to batting technique. Neither is he calm on the field like the master blaster. However, he is way ahead of anyone in the Indian team as far as physical fitness is concerned. That is why he is still able to perform well even at the age of 35.

When Sachin retired from cricket, most of the batting records were in his name. Back then, cricket experts like Wasim Akram had doubted whether anyone could break these records in the future. However, we are now seeing Virat breaking several records of Sachin. He recently overtook Sachin to become the batter with the most runs scored in a single Cricket World Cup edition and the batter with the most hundreds in ODI cricket. Tendulkar was also there to see Virat break his record in the semi-final against New Zealand. After breaking the record, the first thing Virat did was greet Sachin Tendulkar in the gallery and pay his respects.

Sachin scored 49 centuries from 452 innings in 463 ODIs. Virat completed his 50th hundred in his 291st ODI. Changes in cricket rules and fielding regulations have increased the speed of the game. Virat has never faced bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Furthermore, this is a period when batters have the liberty to review decisions made by the umpires. All this may have hastened Virat's journey towards the record achievement.

Virat still has many more records of Sachin to break. The most important among these records is 100 centuries in international cricket. Sachin scored 51 centuries in Tests and 49 centuries in ODIs. Virat has scored 29 centuries in Tests and one century in Twenty20. Fans are eagerly waiting for Virat Kohli to score 20 more centuries so that he can equal his idol in terms of the total number of international centuries as well. At present, only Virat is likely to break Sachin's record of the most number of runs in international cricket (34357 runs). Virat currently has 26478 runs across all formats.

"God is the best scriptwriter! Utterly grateful to him for blessing me with your love, and to watch you grow from strength to strength and achieve all that you have and will, being honest to yourself and to the sport always. You are truly God's child," Virat's wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma recently wrote on Instagram.