Dinesh Karthik compares Virat Kohli to Novak Djokovic: To get to 13,000 ODI runs in 267 innings is unreal

India wicket-keeping batter Dinesh Karthik has compared India superstar batter Virat Kohli with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Kohli scored an unbeaten century as India hammered Pakistan by 228 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik compared Kohli to Djokovic while talking about him becoming the fastest player to score 13,000 runs in ODI cricket. Kohli became just the fifth batter and second Indian to score 13,000 runs in ODIs, getting to the landmark in a record time of 267 innings, 54 innings faster than Sachin Tendulkar.

“To get it in 267 innings is unreal. It is very much comparable to what Novak Djokovic has done because when he started his career, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were flying. What this man has achieved in 267 innings is come close to some of the greats who have played the game, and we are adding up all the formats,” said Karthik.

He went on to say Kohli might not be able to catch Tendulkar in terms of runs scored since he’s played a lot more T20 matches but getting to 13,000 ODI runs faster than Tendulkar will be the greatness of Kohli. Kohli scored an unbeaten 122 off 94 balls, hitting nine boundaries and three sixes.

“For him to come about and do that (get to 13,000 runs) in 267 innings, hats off to the man. You can say maybe he will fall short just because of the amount of cricket he is playing; he might not end up getting there. He has played far lesser innings than Sachin Tendulkar, and that will be the greatness of Virat Kohli,” Karthik added.

The Indian team posted a daunting score of 356 for 2, thanks to splendid batting from Kohli and KL Rahul, with both of them scoring centuries en route to their unbeaten 233-run partnership, following fifties from openers Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill.

Chasing 357 runs, Pakistan were bundled over for just 128 runs in 32 overs, thanks to a five-wicket haul from Kuldeep following brilliant opening spells from India’s fast-bowling attack.