Virat Kohli recorded his 30th one-day international century in India's six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Sunday and said it will take "a hell of an effort" to match Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record.
Kohli scored an unbeaten 110 off 116 balls to match Ricky Ponting's haul of ODI hundreds – in 179 fewer innings – as his side completed a 5-0 whitewash of the host.
Only India legend Tendulkar's tally of 49 outstrips Kohli's efforts, a number he feels it will be difficult to reach. However, the captain was quick to insist the target would not become an obsession for him.
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Kohli: ‘It has been a complete series for us’
"I look to perform as well as I can for the team. These things keep happening as you go along in your career. You don't target these things, but those stat windows are hard to neglect because they pop up everywhere after you've achieved something," said the 28-year-old.
"It's an honour for me to equal someone like Ricky Ponting. That's not something that you aim for but, obviously, he's a great player and as batsmen, we all respect what these legends have done.
"It feels great to equal one, but the great man [Tendulkar] is quite a bit away. That's going to take a hell of an effort.
"Again, I am not thinking about that. It's only about the team where even if I score a 90 not out and the team goes across the line, it's good enough for me."
India experimented with its line-up during the Sri Lanka series and Kohli was impressed with the efforts of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as he seeks to eliminate any predictability from their bowling attack.
He said: "These guys were brilliant, all three of them. Axar being a conventional spinner as well, he varied his pace, I think it was outstanding, he didn't let the batsmen get on top of him.
"Kuldeep and Chahal being wrist spinners will always keep you in the game. I certainly felt that all three of them were pretty spot on with attacking all the time.
"It really helped us get those crucial wickets in the middle overs and at the same time helped us control the run rate as well.
"You might see changes in the bowling attack every now and then but these guys have grabbed the opportunity really well.
"It's going to be a challenge among all the bowlers and the spinners that are going to be in the part of the bigger group to make it to the 2019 World Cup. We don't want to be predictable in any way and we want to have an X factor if possible with the bowling attack as well."
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