Kohli on equalling Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds: ‘It’s stuff of dreams’،
Virat Kohli equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 49 ODI hundreds, reaching the landmark on his 35th birthday during India’s World Cup match against South Africa in Kolkata.
“Every opportunity to play for India is a great chance for me. To be able to do it on my birthday, in front of the whole crowd, is a dream, something you wish could have happened as a child ” Kohli said after his record-equalling innings. “I’m very grateful to God that I had the chance to experience these kinds of moments, with so much love from the fans as well, and I just continue to help the team in any way I can.”
Kohli reached the record hundred off 119 balls, reaching the milestone in the 49th over of the Indian innings by hitting Kagiso Rabada to cover a single in front of a near-capacity crowd at Eden Gardens. While Tendulkar scored his 49th century in his 451st ODI innings, Kohli got there in just the 277th innings in his 289th match. He finished unbeaten on 101 off 121 balls, having led India to a total of 326.
Well done Virat.
It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and beat my record in the next few days.
Congratulations!!#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/PVe4iXfGFk– Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2023
Kohli began his innings in the sixth over, then India lost Shubman Gill in the 11th over, with the score then 93 for 2. “It was a tough wicket to bat on,” Kohli said. “We got off to a good start thanks to Rohit [Sharma] and Shubman, then when I came in, my job was to keep that momentum going, but as soon as the ten overs were over, the ball started to grip and the wicket started to slow down as the ball got older.
“Our roles are different – me and Shreyas [Iyer], we wanted to string together a partnership and to be honest, as soon as we lost Shubman and Rohit in ten overs, my role was to bat deep and to the end because that’s what I have done over the years and that’s what the team’s communication was going well; I hit and the guys hit around me and then Shreyas started hitting a few. So we didn’t expect to get 327 [326] but that’s what happens when you dig deep and move forward in the game in the later overs, then you can get a little more than you thought.
He and Iyer kept India’s momentum going with a third-wicket stand of 134 off 158 balls. “We had a lot of practice sessions before going to the Asia Cup. Shreyas and I invariably batted together, as number 3 and 4, against spinners. And I told him, ‘It’s the partnership that must take center stage.” “through the middle overs. So both of us are quite comfortable swinging the strike against spinners. Whatever loose balls he put away, that’s on him,” Kohi said. “Like I said, when you lose two wickets and you don’t have Hardik [Pandya] In your team, you have to bat deep and make sure you get to a stage where the opposition feels like we have to restrict them, rather than feeling like we’re a wicket 30 runs short of what we are. had to continue. He batted beautifully depending on the situation and rotation of strikes was key. »
Kohli now has two hundreds for the 2023 World Cup, with four half-centuries in eight league matches so far. He is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament behind South African Quinton de Kock, his 543 runs equating to an average of 108.60 and a strike rate of 88.29. This is the first time he has scored over 500 runs in an ODI World Cup.
Kohli’s hundred continues a prolific year for him in the ODI format. He has over 1000 runs with five centuries as of 2023, at an average of 72.18 and a strike rate of 99.82. This is the eighth time he has scored more than 1,000 ODI runs in a year, surpassing Tendulkar’s record of seven.
With seven wins in seven matches, India were the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, before this top-of-the-table clash against South Africa.
