"Kohli is definitely going to pass Sachin Tendulkar" - Pakistan legend backs Indian batter to break Master Blaster's huge ODI record

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram reckons that Virat Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar's record for most runs in ODI chases. While reflecting on the Indian batting star's numbers in one-day chases, he described them as phenomenal.

Kohli broke a plethora of records during his match-winning knock of 84 against Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4. The 36-year-old also crossed the 8000-run mark in ODI chases during his innings. Tendulkar (8,720) holds the record for having scored most runs in chases in one-dayers. Kohli is second on the illustrious list followed by Rohit Sharma (6,115).

During a discussion on the show 'The Pavillion' on Ten Sports, Akram backed Kohli to surpass Tendulkar and move to the top of the list among batters with most runs in ODI chases. He commented (as quoted by The Indian Express):

“Look at these all names with the highest run chasers. Sachin, Rohit, Jayasuriya and Kallis. There are the greats of the game and Kohli is definitely going to pass Sachin Tendulkar the way it looks like. Kohli’s average is only second to MS Dhoni. Dhoni got close to 100 and Kohli’s average is close to 90. That’s just phenomenal.”

Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (5,742) and South Africa's Jacques Kallis (5,575) complete the top five list of batters with most runs in chases in ODIs.

Before Kohli's heroics with the bat, Australian captain Steve Smith top-scored for his side with 73 off 96 in the first semifinal against India. Alex Carey also contributed 61 off 57, but the Aussies were held to 264. Akram agreed that Australia needed to post 300 on the board considering their inexperienced bowling line-up. The former Pakistan captain said:

"Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins could not come, two were injured and one did not come due to personal reasons. But Australia did not help their cause. Like Steve Smith said, if the score was 290-300, then they would have got a chance. These two wickets of Smith and (Glenn) Maxwell made them score a below-par score."

Incidentally, Smith announced his retirement from ODIs a day after the loss to Team India in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal.

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Virat Kohli broke major batting records during IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal

Kohli broke a number of impressive records during his 84-run knock in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia. The 36-year-old notched up his 24th 50-plus score in ICC ODI events, surpassing the previous record held by Tendulkar. He also became the first batter to reach 1,000 runs in ICC knockout matches across formats.

Kohli now also holds the record for being the highest run-getter for India in the Champions Trophy. The right-handed has 746 runs to his name from 17 matches at an average of 82.88. The previous record was held by Shikhar Dhawan (701).