No conversation on a major Kohli landmark can be had without comparisons with the man whose cricket records he was supposed to match or even surpass—Sachin Tendulkar. How many would instantly recall where Tendulkar, the only cricketer to play 200 Tests, reached his career mid-point? It was at The Oval in September, 2002, done and dusted with a half-century in a drawn game.

It's the sheer class and range of his shots that has made Kohli a true successor to Tendulkar, but how do they compare in cold numbers when it comes to the 100-Test mark? Tendulkar of course had an age advantage—he made his debut at 16, Kohli was 22 when he first played for India. Tendulkar was at the peak of his prowess at 29, when he played his 100th, with his second—and the most career-threatening—injury still two years away. Kohli is 33 heading into his 100th, and there is certain urgency, a hint of desperation even, to the occasion because he has not scored an international century since the match-winning 136 at Eden Gardens in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in November, 2019.

The No 4 slot

The other comparisons between Tendulkar and Kohli are more interesting. For starters, Kohli has justified the tag as Tendulkar’s heir apparent, especially taking over his No 4 batting slot in Tests and prospering. But for the slowing down of the Kohli run machine since late 2019, Covid and his paternity break during the 2020-21 Australia Test series playing their part, their big numbers could have been almost identical (see box).

If Tendulkar was about setting the agenda, building early scores, Kohli has revelled as the chase master. The two batters are tied with 22 centuries in the first innings if figures up to 100 Tests are taken. Tendulkar though has double the number of fifties Kohli has, which underlines his sheer consistency.

In the second innings, Tendulkar is marginally ahead—he has eight hundreds and nine 50s. Kohli has five hundreds and 15 fifties. Kohli though is only 443 runs behind Tendulkar’s aggregate going into his 100th Test.

The couple of years leading up to his 100th Test were the best of Tendulkar's storied career. Between his 61st and 100th Test, he scored 1,000 plus runs in each 10-match cluster. He also has at least one century in each of the first 10 clusters of 10 Tests apiece. Kohli, despite the blips on his debut series in the West Indies in 2011 and the poor 2014 series in England and the current lean phase, has been consistent. However, he passed 1,000 runs (1,378) only in one cluster, when he scored six hundreds.

An elite club

Kohli is conscious of Test cricket’s primacy and will be determined to re-set his career. His last nine matches saw only three half-centuries. Only three Indians—Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid—have finished their careers with 50-plus averages (the hallmark of Test greatness) and 10,000-plus aggregate.

Kohli enters a club that has only 70 members. None who made their debut before 1954 (England’s Colin Cowdrey, the first Test centurion) played 100 Tests. Only 19 of those who debuted this millennium have reached that landmark.

These are times of tumult in Kohli’s career. Borrowing from Tendulkar’s ability to constantly reinvent his game could be the best way forward. The rapid expansion of T20 has left Test cricket under huge pressure.

With the careers of Cheteshwar Pujara (95 Tests) and Ajinkya Rahane (82) all but over, and R Ashwin, the next senior most (84) now 35 with not many Tests scheduled till the 2023 50-over World Cup, long runs in the longest format will get rarer.

Kohli could well be the last Indian to play hundred Tests.