On his 35th birthday, Virat Kohli tied Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries against South Africa in the 2023 World Cup, driving his die-hard admirers (and some critics) into a frenzy on social media.
Virat Kohli hit his century against Kagiso Rabada in the 49th over. This was just his 277th innings, much outnumbering Tendulkar’s 452 innings.
When Rohit Sharma was bowled after providing India an important and quick start, the right-handed hitter came to bat. Shubman Gill left shortly after, and Kohli kept the ship afloat with a century partnership with Shreyas Iyer.
The wicket became increasingly difficult to bat on as the track slowed and the ball aged. Kohli’s pace slowed, and a wave of criticism erupted on social media, with many accusing him of being “obsessed” with a ton. He finished the innings with a score of 101 (121) as India reached a total of 326/5.
The following are some of the finest reactions to Virat Kohli’s knock:
This was not Kohli’s only Tendulkar record on the day. He also became the second batter, after the great former cricketer, to score over 6,000 ODI runs at home and 3,000 runs in international cricket against South Africa. He arrived at both faster than Tendulkar.
“Stuff of dreams” – Virat Kohli
During the mid-innings break, Kohli said how he and Shreyas had a lot of practice sessions together before the 2023 Asia Cup and how he was excited to see it all come together today. He also stated that his function was originally to maintain momentum but altered as the pitch began to grip more tightly.
On his remarkable innings, Kohli stated:
“Every opportunity to play for India is an honor for me. To do this on my birthday in front of this crowd is the stuff of dreams. I’m grateful to God for the kind of love I’ve got from the crowd.”
Virat Kohli
