Sourav Ganguly has his say on who's greater between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar?

Sourav Ganguly (Source: Twitter)

Star India batter Virat Kohli scored his 45^th ODI hundred in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday. The modern great scored a magnificent 113 off 87 balls as India registered a 67-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. With 45 ODI hundreds to his name, Kohli is just four hundreds behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds. As the star batter is closing in on Tendulkar’s record, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly commented on who’s a better batter between Kohli and Tendulkar.

On being asked about who is the better player between Sachin and Kohli, former Indian Cricket Board president Sourav Ganguly was quoted by NDTV, "It's a difficult question to answer. Kohli is a fantastic player. He's played many such innings, 45 hundreds don't happen like this. He's a special talent. There will be periods when he will not score, but he's a special player."

During his innings in the first ODI, Kohli also equalled Tendulkar’s record of scoring the most hundreds at home (20). He also equalled his record for scoring the most hundreds against a single nation (9). Kohli now has 9 hundreds each against Sri Lanka and West Indies in ODIs.

Kohli's hundred set up a comfortable win for India in the first ODI

Courtesy of Kohli's hundred, India set up a big total of 373 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma also contributed with the bat as he slammed 83 off 67 balls while Shubman Gill made a 60-ball 70.

Umran Malik (3/57) and Mohammed Siraj (2/30) shared five wickets between them as India restricted Sri Lanka to 306 for 8 in 50 overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka played a magnificent knock of 108 not out and top-scored for Sri Lanka while Pathum Nissanka contributed 72.

The two teams will now head to Kolkata for the second ODI of the series on Thursday. With the ODI World Cup scheduled later this year in India, Rohit Sharma’s men will look to get their year off to a winning start and continue the momentum heading into the mega tournament.