Icc digital daily

ODI World Cup: Former Australia cricketer and two-time World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting believes a monkey is off Virat Kohli’s back after equalling with legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar for the most number of centuries in ODIs.

At the Eden Gardens on Sunday, Kohli equalled Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries with a brilliant 101 not out against South Africa on his 35th birthday, as India won by 243 runs to keep its winning run going. Kohli now has a total of 543 runs at this edition of the Men’s ODI World Cup at a gigantic average of 108.60.

"That might be a bit of a monkey off his back. I think he has been working extra hard to equal Sachin’s record. That’s done now and it has happened at a really good time at the tournament for him. One more game to go and then they head into the semi-finals. It was an almost perfect day for Virat and a great day for India," said Ponting in an ICC Digital Daily episode.