After narrowly missing the record against New Zealand and Sri Lanka with scores of 95 and 88 respectively, the former Indian captain displayed visible emotion.
Virat Kohli made history by achieving his 49th ODI century against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. And he couldn’t have asked for a better day as it came on his 35th birthday. This feat placed Kohli on par with Sachin Tendulkar for the most ODI centuries in the history of the 50-over format.
After narrowly missing the record against New Zealand and Sri Lanka with scores of 95 and 88 respectively, the former Indian captain displayed visible emotion upon reaching this milestone, celebrating the achievement with a heartfelt embrace with Ravindra Jadeja.
India set a formidable total of 326 on the board after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Rohit Sharma provided a rapid start for the Men in Blue with a 24-ball 40, propelling the hosts to 91 runs in the powerplay. However, Kagiso Rabada dismissed Rohit while Shubman Gill fell victim to a splendid delivery from Keshav Maharaj.
This left Shreyas Iyer and Kohli with a significant rebuilding task on a pitch that clearly favored slower, more challenging play. The pair established a substantial partnership of 134 runs, with Iyer contributing 77 runs from 87 balls. While KL Rahul fell short of expectations, Suryakumar Yadav (22 runs in 14 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (29 runs in 15 balls) delivered a rapid finish, boosting India’s total to 326.
Kohli concluded with a score of 101 off 121 balls, expertly anchoring India’s innings.
In the 2023 World Cup, Kohli has been in sensational form, amassing a total of 543 runs in eight innings, including two centuries and four half-centuries. He stands as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, with only Quinton de Kock surpassing his tally.
This marks the first occasion where Kohli has secured more than one century in a single edition of the World Cup.
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