In Wednesday’s India vs. New Zealand 2023 World Cup semifinal at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Virat Kohli made history by surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and scoring his 50th ODI century.
Virat Kohli’s leap of delight and subsequent bow to his hero Sachin Tendulkar, who was watching from the stands, were very emotional moments for him. His 50th century may have been appropriate given that it occurred in a World Cup semifinal on Tendulkar’s home field.
Fans and cricket analysts alike were ecstatic to witness Virat Kohli shatter records on the largest platform. Below are a few of their responses:
5. Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra praised Virat Kohli greatly after his 50th one-hundred score in the One Day Internationals. He expressed how significant Virat Kohli’s feat was and believed that he is one of the top players in cricket history.
Let’s see what Chopra shared in a video on his YouTube channel:
“Virat Kohli scored a century, his 50th century. We say it’s amazing if people play 50 matches. We say you are rocking if you score 50 half-centuries. However, if someone scores 50 centuries in a format, we say he is the greatest of all time. That’s what Virat Kohli is.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli is the pivot of India’s batting order and admires the way the star batsman has embraced his new position.
4. Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri, a onetime Indian all-rounder, closely observed Virat Kohli during his tenure as team head coach. He noted Kohli’s fantastic persistence and long-standing career. Shastri believes that Virat Kohli might surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international hundreds record.
Here’s what he said to ICC:
“Who would have thought when Sachin Tendulkar got 100 hundreds that anyone would come close he’s got 80, 80 international hundreds, 50 of them in the one-day game and which makes him the highest. Unreal. Nothing’s impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. His next 10 innings, you might see another five hundreds. You have three formats of the game and he’s part of all those formats.”
Ravi Shastri
Kohli was also praised by Shastri for recognizing his position in the squad and continuing to bat deep and score a lot of runs.
3. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, a previous Indian off-spinner, spoke about how appropriate it was for Kohli to hit his 50th hundred right in front of Sachin Tendulkar – a cricket legend. This happened on Tendulkar’s home turf at Wankhede Stadium. This was a venue that housed the victory of the 2011 World Cup Final, where Harbhajan played. The stadium was adding another significant moment to its history books.
On Star Sports, he said the following:
“It won’t be enough no matter how much you praise him. The best thing is that it came at the Wankhede when Sachin Tendulkar was also there. It is a historic ground. We won the World Cup here and now this 50th century has come here. We have seen history being created with our own eyes.”
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh believes the monkey is off Kohli’s back in terms of the historic event, and that this will allow the ace batter to play with greater freedom.
2. Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan was happy to witness Virat Kohli’s joyous celebration. Kohli devoted his hundred to the superb Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar was also there, watching from the stands. Khan thinks it’s a special time for Indian cricket. Two amazing players are leading the pack.
Here’s what he had to say to Cricbuzz:
“Big achievement. Lots of years and years of hard work, determination, sacrifices. You name it, you know, you play the game for this. Virat has been doing a phenomenal job of it, making a habit of getting hundreds. Sachin was there in the stands, so it was emotional moment for both of them, and both of them acknowledging each other is something which you want to see and the Indian holding the record strongly. So you have two guys there right now to give each other company.”
Zaheer Khan
Kohli also surpassed Tendulkar’s record of 673 runs in a single World Cup campaign. He has now ran 711 times.
1. Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram, a renowned Pakistani bowler who played international cricket against Sachin Tendulkar, remarked that he never thought anybody could break Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.
Akram was simply awestruck by Kohli’s consistency throughout the years. He told A Sports the following:
“When Sachin finished with 49 tons, I thought ‘kaun karega yaar’ pachaas sau (will anyone ever score 50 hundreds?). You can still think about it as all-inclusive (cumulative centuries) across formats. But this guy (Kohli) came, saw and conquered.”
Wasim Akram
Aside from Wasim Akram, other A Sports commentators such as Misbah-ul-Haq commended Virat Kohli for continuing to be a big-match performer.