Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: Stats, Era Context & Verdict

Greatness in Indian batting has two unmissable silhouettes. One is the Little Master, punching on the rise through tropical haze and two slips. The other is King Kohli, chest out, eyes blazing, slipping into a chase like a surgeon settling into a routine he has done a hundred times. Both have carried a country’s pulse on their bat face. Both have changed the standards of what an Indian batter can do away from home. Both sit on mountains of records. And yet the Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar debate is richer than numbers alone.

This is a definitive, data-led and context-rich comparison of Kohli vs Sachin across formats, conditions and moments that matter most: ODIs, Tests, T20Is and IPL, World Cups and ICC events, SENA tours, chases, knockouts, captaincy, and age/role evolution. It draws on stats and on-the-ground memory: the smell of new Kookaburras, the extra bounce in Perth afternoons, the discipline of not playing the cover drive in Sydney, the way field placements shift when Kohli is fifty-plus in a chase. The aim is simple: a clear, fair Sachin Tendulkar vs Virat Kohli comparison that respects eras, celebrates strengths, and explains differences.

The shape of greatness and how to measure it

Longevity and volume: Tendulkar sits atop the mountain of international runs and centuries. No one matches his volume over such a long stretch.
Peak dominance and conversion: Kohli’s peaks, especially in ODIs and T20Is, compress greatness into searing efficiency. His 50-to-100 conversion and chasing numbers are historic outliers.
Era and conditions: Tendulkar tackled one ball in ODIs, early movement with heavier bats and less protective laws for batters. Kohli navigated two new balls in ODIs, tighter DRS-driven LBW lines in Tests, more athletic fielders, and relentless white-ball schedules.
Opposition quality and venue split: Both have statement series in SENA countries and defining innings against Australia, Pakistan and England.
Impact under pressure: Desert Storm. Hobart. Mohali nights. Melbourne epics. Finals and knockouts. This is where narratives harden into legend.
Leadership and cultural legacy: Kohli transformed India’s fitness and fast-bowling culture. Tendulkar carried the weight of expectation through transformations of the Indian game itself.

Kohli vs Sachin ODI stats: the engine room of Indian cricket

ODI cricket is the most revealing mirror for this debate. The format asks for repeated excellence across varied conditions, tactical smarts across phases, and the nerve to finish games. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli both built careers that define Indian ODI batting.

Key ODI realities:

All-time runs table: Tendulkar remains the No. 1 run-scorer in ODIs. Kohli is the next Indian on that ladder and sits among the top few all time.
Centuries: Kohli owns more ODI hundreds than Sachin. Tendulkar remains the only batter with a hundred international hundreds across formats.
Average and strike rate: Kohli’s ODI average is higher and his strike rate superior. His ability to score quickly without undue risk created a new template for No. 3 batting.
Chasing: Kohli is the gold standard. He holds the record for most ODI hundreds in successful chases and sustains an elite average while finishing games.
Roles: Tendulkar opened for most of his career, often batting through early swing and seaming mornings. Kohli at No. 3 has been India’s control room, timing chases and constructing middle-overs momentum.
Awards: Tendulkar has the most Man of the Match awards in ODIs. He also leads in Man of the Series among the two.
Milestones: Kohli owns a bundle of “fastest to” ODI run milestones and broke Sachin’s ODI hundreds record with his landmark 50th at Wankhede in a World Cup semifinal.

ODI comparison snapshot

Metric	Tendulkar	Kohli	Edge
Runs in ODIs	All-time No. 1	All-time top bracket	Tendulkar
ODI centuries	49	50	Kohli
ODI average	Elite	Higher	Kohli
Strike rate	High for era	Higher, modern tempo	Kohli
50-to-100 conversion	Strong	Superior	Kohli
Hundreds while chasing	High impact	All-time record	Kohli
Man of the Match (ODIs)	All-time record holder	Among top	Tendulkar
Man of the Series (ODIs)	More than Kohli	Fewer than Tendulkar	Tendulkar
Primary role	Opener	No. 3	Different roles

Chasing mastery and death-overs temperament

Kohli’s chases are a study in control. He scores at near run-a-ball from ball one without looking rushed. He breaks attacks by denying their best overs any wicket, then surges with seamers at the death. Signature efforts include the 133* at Hobart in a must-win run chase under a steep over-rate constraint, and the title-deciding pursuits in bilateral finals where he picked specific bowlers to target. Kohli’s genius lies in risk redistribution: minimal chance offered early, maximal damage late.

Tendulkar’s chases were box-office thrillers, shaped by the opener’s job description of his era. He’d take the new ball on, creating cushion for the middle order. The Sharjah Desert Storm innings against a world-class Australian attack remains the most famous example of ODI batting under pressure. As an opener, his “chase” role differed; he could inflict early damage to flatten run rates and then bat into the middle overs, handing control to finishers.

Home vs away in ODIs and SENA context

Tendulkar traveled through eras when overseas ODIs, especially in SENA conditions, offered more early seam and bounce. He left signature tons in Australia and New Zealand, and repeated mastery in Champions Trophy-style tournaments.
Kohli has ODI hundreds in every major region, including SENA countries, with a particularly strong body of work in Australia. His ability to drive on the up through cover in bouncy conditions came from a compact head position and tight trigger.

Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar Test stats: patience, purity, and pain

Test cricket is still the truest audit of batting fundamentals. Tendulkar and Kohli shaped different Test identities: Sachin as the generational technician who could outlast any spell and dismantle any plan given time; Kohli as the rhythm batter who married white-ball decisiveness to red-ball patience.

Facts that matter:

Runs and centuries: Tendulkar leads clearly in Test runs and hundreds. His mountain of away hundreds under different captains and attacks stands unmatched.
Average and career arc: Kohli’s Test average sits below Tendulkar’s overall figure, but Kohli’s peak patches, particularly across SENA tours and at home against high-quality spin and pace, rival any modern player.
Double hundreds and daddy hundreds: Both have a habit of going big when in. Tendulkar’s Sydney epic built on a vow to ban the cover drive was a masterclass in tactical self-denial. Kohli’s back-to-back double hundreds in a short cluster underlined his willingness to make records by method.
SENA sample: Tendulkar’s Perth defiance as a teenager, Melbourne and Sydney hundreds, Cape Town and Headingley authority — these are culture-anchoring innings. Kohli’s Adelaide twin centuries, the redemption tour in England where he bossed “fourth-stump” lines, and repeated dominance in Australia built his away aura.

Test comparison snapshot

Test metric	Tendulkar	Kohli	Edge
Total runs	Substantial lead	Lower total	Tendulkar
Centuries	More	Fewer	Tendulkar
Career average	Higher	Slightly lower	Tendulkar
Away hundreds in SENA	Deep catalogue	Strong catalogue	Tendulkar on volume, close on peak
Series-defining away tours	Multiple	Multiple	Even on peak impact
Shot selection discipline	Legendary (SCG no-cover-drive)	High, with proactive scoring	Tendulkar on stubbornness, Kohli on tempo

SENA conditions and opposition quality

Tendulkar faced the genius of McGrath-Warne, Wasim-Waqar, Donald-Pollock, Ambrose-Walsh, and later the swing schools of Anderson and Co. He adapted grips and backlift micro-angles to pick length earlier and play later. He let balls go better than anyone of his generation after Dravid.
Kohli’s early Test phase outside Asia had a touch more flourish outside off; his prime years ironed it out with later contact and a stronger front-shoulder path. Against high pace, especially in Australia and South Africa, he trusted the short-arm pull and the on-the-up punch past mid-off. He also had to manage DRS-era LBWs, which tightened the corridor for bat-pad nudges.

Virat vs Sachin T20I records and IPL reality

T20I cricket did not belong to Tendulkar’s international arc. Kohli, conversely, grew into T20I cricket as its global barometer, becoming the all-time leading run-scorer and owning unmatched consistency across global events.

In IPL:

Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer, with peak seasons that redefined what a batter could accumulate. He owns multiple league awards and a king-sized fan footprint that translates into pressure every night.
Tendulkar, in his IPL tenure, produced an Orange Cap season as an opener-mentor, marrying touch with the format’s powerplay constraints and introducing orthodox batting fluency to a young league.

T20I and IPL snapshot

Format	Tendulkar	Kohli	Edge
T20I career	Minimal/no role	All-time run leader, elite average	Kohli
T20I knockouts and global events	Not applicable	Multiple match-winning innings	Kohli
IPL volume	Short, influential stint	All-time top run-scorer	Kohli
IPL role	Touch opener, mentor	Anchor-finisher hybrid turned power anchor	Kohli

World Cups and ICC events: the legacy lens

World Cups and ICC events are the public memory bank. These tournaments magnify pressure, test temperament, and become a shorthand for greatness. Both men delivered in their own ways.

World Cup career: Tendulkar remains the leading World Cup run-scorer. He carried India through multiple editions, collecting Player of the Tournament honors once and owning iconic matches across conditions.
Single-edition peak: Kohli set the all-time World Cup single-edition run record in a home tournament that seemed tailored to his iron discipline in the middle overs.
Team titles: Tendulkar lifted the ODI World Cup late in his career, a fulfillment narrative for a generation. Kohli’s cabinet includes multiple ICC titles across formats, including T20I global triumphs and a Champions Trophy win as a mainstay batter.
Knockout impact: Tendulkar’s World Cup semifinal at Mohali against Pakistan, crafted through luck and nerve, became a national rite. Kohli’s World Cup semifinal hundred at Wankhede and his World Cup final fifty under fire added to his big-moment folklore. In T20I World Cups, Kohli owns multiple tournament-defining innings, including the Melbourne masterclass under lights and the Mohali takedown of Australia.

Knockouts and finals record

Tendulkar in knockouts: Anchoring in semis, crucial contributions in finals buildup, and the emotional arc of finally holding the trophy on home soil.
Kohli in knockouts: Semifinal hundreds in ODIs, repeated semifinal and final contributions in ICC T20 events, and a World Cup final fifty built on restraint and one decisive mistake.

By opposition: Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Australia: Tendulkar’s mastery felt personal against Australia. Desert Storm remains the singular ODI performance that reveals a batter bending a champion side to his will. He owned Australia in Tests as well, with big hundreds in Melbourne and Sydney that slowed time. Kohli’s competitiveness found a perfect mirror in Australia. Twin centuries in Adelaide, unforgettable ODI hundreds and white-ball series where he imposed his tempo on Cummins-Hazlewood lineages — he turned Australia into second home conditions by technique and fight.
England: Tendulkar’s history with England includes a teenage Old Trafford hundred and great hundreds both home and away later on. Kohli’s redemption tour remains modern folklore, constructed on leaving well, earlier trigger discipline and a high-quality cover drive executed with a late head. He finished that trip as the series alpha.
Pakistan: Tendulkar is the blue jersey’s original urge against green; silky ODI hundreds in hostile environments etched an entire era. Kohli added modern masterpieces, including high-pressure T20I games in Mirpur and Melbourne with an almost cinematic final sequence under lights against Pakistan.
South Africa: Tendulkar’s Test hundreds in South Africa hold a different kind of prestige, forged against high pace and steep bounce. Kohli’s runs in South Africa — particularly in ODIs and stretched Test duels — felt like he refused to blink at the chest and head channel that undid many.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka: Tendulkar overflowed with runs against Sri Lanka and has strong away numbers in New Zealand. Kohli’s record includes ODI hundreds in New Zealand and serial annihilation of Sri Lankan attacks in the middle overs of ODIs, underpinning chase legends and series wins.

Pressure index and impact: what the numbers miss

Tempo control: Kohli’s gift is turning required rates into calm arithmetic. He pares risk by targeting specific bowlers, manipulating angles to milk singles at will, then chooses a five-over window for burst strikes. Few players produce such a low false-shot percentage in the forties and fifties while ticking the scoreboard.
Innings narrative: Tendulkar’s control felt different. Early overs against the new ball demanded long-play survival; powerplays were shorter, bowling attacks carried more unrestrained bouncers, and bats were slimmer. When he flowed, it felt like style and science locking fingers. He built hundreds with minimal visible sweat, yet soaked every ounce of pressure that country and context could heap on him.
Situational nuance: Tendulkar’s game-long presence allowed junior partners to play within themselves. Kohli’s orchestra-leading in chases elevated the whole batting lineup’s clarity, sharpened by fitness culture that favored twos and threes and converted average singles into pressure on fielders.

Records broken and milestones: Sachin vs Virat records list

Tendulkar highlights:

Most international runs across formats.
Most international centuries across formats.
Most ODI runs, most ODI centuries before Kohli passed that single-format tally.
First male batter to hit a double century in ODIs.
Most Man of the Match awards in ODIs.
World Cup career run leader.
Hundred of hundreds as a stand-alone landmark.

Kohli highlights:

Most ODI hundreds, surpassing Sachin’s 49 with a 50th in a World Cup semifinal at Wankhede.
All-time leading run-scorer in T20Is with one of the format’s best averages.
A raft of “fastest to” ODI run milestones, including the fastest to five-figure and beyond.
Most hundreds in successful ODI chases.
Record for most runs in a single World Cup edition.
All-time leading run-scorer in the IPL.
Multiple ICC tournament Player awards and top-bracket Man of the Match tallies in the modern era.

Technical side-by-side: how the runs are built

Against pace

Tendulkar: Neutral backlift, soft hands, pre-contact balance. Played late with minimal head movement. Off-drive and straight drive as calling cards, uppercut over third man as a release in bounce. Pulled sparingly but efficiently, often rolling wrists to keep it down.
Kohli: Compact backlift, strong front shoulder, shoulder-hip alignment superb. Drives through extra cover with a late snap, picks length early off the deck. Short-arm pull effective against chest-high pace. Prefers on-top-of-bounce drives rather than big-lever lofts.

Against spin

Tendulkar: Early pick of length, decisive feet. Uses the crease and the late cut better. Paddle sweep, conventional sweep, and step-out loft all present. Knows when to kill turn with a stride.
Kohli: Prefers playing with the spin off the leg side, mazing singles into midwicket and mid-on, then cashing back over extra cover when field spreads. Off-spinners targeted with inside-out lofts. Rarely fails to rotate.

Shot selection and risk

Tendulkar’s discipline experiment in Sydney, removing the cover drive entirely, is possibly the greatest tactical batting performance by a superstar in seamer-friendly conditions.
Kohli’s ODI chase template, built around low-risk drives and leg-side nurdles until he opens the bat face for late boundaries, is the era’s masterclass in repeatable finishing.

Era context: rules, balls, fields, and data

White-ball rules: Tendulkar built a career with a single new ball in ODIs, with one set of wear. Kohli batted through the two-new-ball era, which keeps the ball a touch harder and reduces reverse swing in middle overs but also keeps seam presentation intact for longer. Death overs are now policed by repeatable yorkers and wide-yorker strategies, demanding batters have sharper endgame plans.
Fielding: Modern fielders close angles faster, throw stronger, and reduce twos. Kohli’s running between the wickets and team fitness uplift effectively reclaimed some of those runs.
DRS and LBWs: The arrival of DRS changed how pads and bats relate. On off-stump lines, errors are costlier. Kohli’s generation had to refine judgment under DRS. Tendulkar straddled both worlds.
Bat technology: Modern bats and boundary ropes compress differences marginally at the top level, but technique remains primary. Both batters would be great in any era.

Home vs away, SENA countries and conditions

Tendulkar’s catalogue away from home is astonishing in volume. Perth and Sydney in Australia, runs in South Africa against high-class pace, and English summers navigated with a floating off stump and the late cut make him the away benchmark in Indian cricket history.
Kohli’s away peak in Australia and a redemptive England tour established that his technique could not be bullied by line or length. In South Africa, where carry and seam find many out, he produced series-defining passages of resilience and stroke-making.

Captaincy and leadership culture

Tendulkar as captain was a reluctant chapter that never matched his batting. His leadership legacy centers on mentorship, openness with younger batters, and a batting standard that trained an entire generation’s eyes on how to prepare.
Kohli the captain was crusader-in-chief. He insisted on a pace revolution, designed training loads around elite fielding and endurance, and treated Test cricket as non-negotiable supremacy. India’s Test results away from home under his era-defining spell drew heavily on that fitness-first doctrine.

Kohli vs Sachin centuries comparison: where and how they stack

Overall international centuries: Tendulkar’s hundred hundreds stand alone.
ODI centuries: Kohli ahead, with a landmark 50th in a World Cup semifinal.
Test centuries: Tendulkar ahead with an unparalleled pile, particularly away.
Chasing centuries: Kohli leads in ODIs, setting a standard likely to stand tall for years.

Kohli vs Sachin home vs away stats: the big picture

Home: Both are monoliths at home; bowlers often ran out of plans by the second spell. Tendulkar’s long-term consistency at home is historic. Kohli’s home Test and ODI numbers are a masterclass in minimizing risk through the middle overs and punishing length when bowlers tire.
Away: Tendulkar’s away record is unmatched on volume. Kohli’s away peak places him comfortably alongside the greatest modern travelers, with special brilliance in Australia and a corrected game in England.

Kohli vs Sachin in SENA countries: the distilled view

Tests: Advantage Tendulkar on volume and duration; Kohli very close on peak impact across series.
ODIs: Kohli’s SENA ODI output is outstanding, especially in Australia. Tendulkar owns several indelible away ODIs, including tri-series heroics and tournament phases where he covered the lineup’s growing pains.

Performance under pressure: finals, knockouts, and big-match aura

Iconic Tendulkar highlights

Desert Storm sequence in Sharjah — batting that redefined ODI intimidation.
World Cup semifinal vs Pakistan in Mohali — a masterclass in concentration and fortune management.
Tri-series and ICC mini-tournaments where he set the tone at the top, often the best player on the park.

Iconic Kohli highlights

Hobart 133* in a must-win case study of tempo and clean striking.
Mohali T20I storm against Australia — clinical finishing under lights.
Melbourne T20I epic vs Pakistan — perhaps the most dramatic T20 chase cameo for India, pressure distilled into timing and nerve.
World Cup semifinal hundred at Wankhede — a statement that blended legacy with laser focus.
World Cup final fifty — an innings that reads modestly on paper but oozed control on a wicket shifting from two-paced to sticky.

Sachin vs Kohli most Man of the Match awards and aura

Tendulkar leads ODI history in Man of the Match awards, a testament to match-winning heft over a generational span.
Kohli is among the most decorated in MoM and Player of the Series tallies in the modern limited-overs game, notably across ICC events and high-profile bilateral contests.

Kohli vs Sachin strike rate comparison and conversion rate

ODIs: Kohli’s strike rate is higher while maintaining an elite average; that combination is vanishingly rare. His conversion rate from fifty to hundred is stronger, especially in chases.
Tests: Tendulkar’s strike rate sits as a function of era and role. Kohli’s willingness to score through extra cover and midwicket raises his Test strike rate, but he also showed the discipline to go to ground when conditions asked.

Kohli vs Sachin as captain

Tendulkar: Understated leader, unmatched batting guide. Captaincy numbers never matched his mastery; his leadership should be read through grooming and example.
Kohli: Aggressive, fitness-obsessed, fielding and pace-intensive leader who made India the fittest version of itself and elevated away Test competitiveness to new heights.

Sachin vs Kohli records broken and living standard

Kohli chasing records that once looked untouchable became a feature, especially the ODI hundreds mark. His T20I volume and IPL supremacy round out the all-format footprint.
Tendulkar’s hundred hundreds and all-time runs record are likely to remain the Everest equivalents for another generation.

The verdict: Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar who is the GOAT

GOAT conversations become honest only when criteria are declared.

If longevity and cumulative volume define greatness, Tendulkar stands as the tallest. Most runs across formats, most international centuries, World Cup career runs lead, most Man of the Match in ODIs — the resume is galactic.
If ODI batting quality and finishing in chases are the decisive criteria, Kohli’s case is overwhelming. Higher average, higher strike rate, better conversion, more ODI hundreds than Sachin, and chase mastery that has redefined what finishing looks like.
If Test cricket’s away mountain is the measure, Tendulkar leads in sheer mass of output and the breadth of magic across SENA venues. Kohli, on peak, runs Tendulkar close in Australia and with the redemption tour in England, adding a chapter of leadership-driven Test supremacy.
If T20Is and modern white-ball multi-format dominance weigh heavily, Kohli is the benchmark.
If cultural legacy is the axis, Tendulkar made India believe and carried the heaviest early weight; Kohli made India the best version of itself athletically and mentally, toughened by a fast-bowling revolution.

A balanced, data-led conclusion

ODIs overall: slight edge Kohli.
ODIs in chases and under pressure: clear edge Kohli.
Tests overall and away on volume: clear edge Tendulkar.
T20Is and IPL: clear edge Kohli.
World Cup career and lifetime tournament ledger: edge Tendulkar on career, edge Kohli on single-edition peak.
Awards and MoM footprint in ODIs: edge Tendulkar.
Era-adjusted respect: both irreplaceable, each the best version of batting their era demanded.

Kohli vs Sachin ODI stats 2025 without the year stamp is a moving target, so a living takeaway serves better than a frozen one: Kohli has overtaken Sachin for ODI hundreds, sustains a higher average and strike rate, and owns the chasing narrative; Sachin still guards the cumulative ODI runs summit and the all-format centuries Everest. Both reached the top of ICC rankings and both built batting blueprints future Indians will follow.

Quick answers and myth-busters

Better at chasing in ODIs: Kohli.
More ODI hundreds: Kohli.
More international hundreds overall: Tendulkar.
Better ODI average and strike rate: Kohli.
Better Test ledger by volume and longevity: Tendulkar.
World Cup career run leader: Tendulkar.
Single-edition World Cup peak: Kohli.
Most Man of the Match awards in ODIs: Tendulkar.
Best at No. 3 in ODIs for India: Kohli.
Best ODI opener for India by legend and longevity: Tendulkar.
Fastest to major ODI run milestones: Kohli.
T20I career dominance: Kohli.
Knockout impact across formats: both great; ODI and T20I modern knockouts tilt toward Kohli; World Cup career volume tilts toward Tendulkar.

Hindi snapshot: behtari par data nishkarsh

Kohli vs Sachin kaun behtar hai, data kehata hai ki ODIs me chasing aur strike rate me Kohli aage.
World Cup career aur total runs me Tendulkar mahaan shikhhar par.
Test cricket me lambi avadhi aur bahari deshon me Tendulkar ki pakad zyada; peak prabhav me Kohli kareeb.
T20I aur IPL me Kohli ka raj.
Kul mila kar dono alag era ke sabse behtarin, maapdand alag to nateeje alag.

Contextual slices that change the answer

Chasing vs setting: Kohli owns chases; Tendulkar’s best as setter and opener defined eras.
Home vs away: Tendulkar by away volume; Kohli by specific away peaks and modern ODI consistency.
Age-wise arcs: Tendulkar’s early explosion and late-career reinventions; Kohli’s mid-career peak of unbelievable ODI/T20I efficiency and a Test retooling for England lines.
Opposition quality: Both plundered Sri Lanka and New Zealand, both made Australia the stage for statement knocks, both walked into Pakistan games as events bigger than cricket.

Strategic micro-truths coaches and analysts obsess over

Two-new-ball ODI era altered seam presentation; Kohli’s middle-overs control lives there.
Powerplay lengths and fielding restrictions shaped how Tendulkar and partners valued risk at the top.
DRS forced Kohli’s generation to play straighter; Tendulkar optimized in an era of umpire’s call without upstairs interventions.
Fitness and running games under Kohli’s leadership exported three-run options into matches that used to hold only ones and twos.

Kohli vs Sachin comparisons by venue type

Subcontinent: Both giants. Tendulkar’s against spin and mixed pace remains tutorial gold. Kohli’s middle-overs ferocity and death finishing are modern masterclass.
Australia: Tendulkar scripted some of the most refined innings in Indian Test history. Kohli’s ODI and Test output there forms the spine of his away greatness.
England: Tendulkar’s many tours produced hallmark hundreds. Kohli’s redemption tour is one of the finest modern responses to a technical question.
South Africa: Tendulkar’s runs against steep bounce sit proudly; Kohli’s refusal to quit lines of attack there is a big reason India’s modern away respect emerged.
New Zealand: Tendulkar adjusted to extra swing and black-soil bounce; Kohli filed important ODI hundreds and series-winning contributions.

Man of the Series and influence on winning

Tendulkar’s MoS count mirrors years when Indian batting revolved around him. At his peak, he was a series by himself.
Kohli’s MoS across bilateral tours and ICC events often coincided with away surges and white-ball streaks, an outcome of both his volume and his finishing ratios.

Kohli vs Sachin in Asia Cup and Champions Trophy

Asia Cup: Tendulkar’s longevity and multiple formats delivered big volumes and highlights, including a landmark international hundred that closed a personal chapter. Kohli’s Asia Cup entries include towering chases and hundreds that doubled as statement-making practice for global events.
Champions Trophy: Tendulkar cemented his global-award reputation with leadership runs; Kohli played central roles in a title run that turbo-charged India’s white-ball swagger.

Strike rate in death overs and finishing style

Tendulkar’s finish often happened earlier in the innings, with openers expected to bat long and allow finishers to slog. He could close, but the role archetype was different.
Kohli, in multiple ODIs, backed himself into run-a-ball positions by over thirty, then punished weaker fifth-bowler overs to get ahead of the rate. At the death, he chose matchups, played risk-aware lofts over extra cover and scythed through backward point when third man was up.

Kohli vs Sachin age-wise records and after 200 innings

Kohli accelerated through milestones faster; his fastest-to markers illustrate that pace. His average after his early innings sample dwarfed contemporaries, and his fifty-to-hundred conversion built separation early.
Tendulkar’s after-200-innings story belongs to longevity and adaptability. He refashioned himself multiple times, shaping a career that glides across generations and formats.

What a data-first fan should conclude

ODI batting science and chase mastery point to Kohli as the most efficient Indian ODI batter ever.
Test greatness by lifetime record, away tonnage, and era durability points to Tendulkar as the benchmark.
World Cup storybook plots hand career ownership to Tendulkar, with single-edition peak glory in Kohli’s hands.
T20I dominance and IPL empire are Kohli’s.

Kohli vs Sachin comparison table: format-by-format edge map

Category	ODIs overall	ODIs in chases	Tests overall (volume)	Tests peak away	T20I	IPL	World Cup career	World Cup single edition	Awards (ODI MoM)	Fastest ODI milestones
Edge	Kohli slight	Kohli clear	Tendulkar clear	Close, Tendulkar on volume	Kohli	Kohli	Tendulkar	Kohli	Tendulkar	Kohli

Final word

Greatness here lives in two truths at once. Tendulkar is Indian cricket’s long sunrise — a career that lit up every corner of the globe, a ledger that may not be matched in cumulative glow. Kohli is the lightning storm — intensity perfected, ODI batting logic rewritten, T20I economy of risk turned into an art form, and a leadership imprint that made India harder, fitter, and surer of itself.

Call the GOAT for criteria you value. Call them both what they are for India: the standard, then the upgrade. The Little Master, then King Kohli. In the endless Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar debate, that is the only verdict that never loses.