Former Indian captain Virat Kohli etched his name into the record books by becoming the first cricketer to slam 50 ODI centuries. He also went past Sachin Tendulkar’s overall tally of 49 ODI centuries.
Virat Kohli achieved the feat in the first semi-final against the New Zealand cricket team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In the process, he also became the second Indian to score a century in the semi-final of the World Cup.
Sourav Ganguly was the first Indian to score a century in the semi-final and he achieved the feat against Kenya in the 2003 ODI World Cup. Virat Kohli also went past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of most runs in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar scored 674 runs in the 2003 ODI World Cup. Virat Kohli has mustered 711 runs so far in the 2023 ODI World Cup. After Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record, the Master Blaster took to his official X handle and heaped praise on Virat Kohli.
Take a look at Sachin Tendulkar’s tweet on Virat Kohli
“The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn’t stop laughing that day. But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I am so happy that that young boy has grown into a ‘Virat’ player. I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record. And to do it on the biggest stage – in the World Cup Semi-final – and at my home ground is the icing on the cake,” Sachin Tendulkar tweeted.
After scoring his 50th ODI century, Virat Kohli, during the innings break said, “As I said stuff of dreams. Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin paaji was here too. Difficult to explain this. If I could paint a perfect picture I would want this to be the picture. My life partner, the person I love the most is sitting there, my hero is sitting there and I was able to get the 50th (ODI hundred) in front of all of them and all these stands in Wankhede as well, such a history venue so it was amazing.”