On November 5, star batter Virat Kohli came out to a thunderous welcome from a full audience at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The champion batsman, who turned 35 today, entered the stage after captain Rohit Sharma fell for a stunning 40 off 24 balls in the top-of-the-table encounter against South Africa.
Virat Kohli, loved by many across the nation, delights enthusiasts in Kolkata by his phenomenal batting. He scored three international centuries and an IPL century in this stadium. He’s a mid-30s cricketer with an incredible 50 average and a 90% strike rate in his One Day International matches at Kolkata.
Check out this fantastic video capturing the crowd erupting into ‘Kohli, Kohli’ chants as he steps onto the pitch:
#KingKohli entry at Eden ????#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/xR3aPcAczm
— Rahul Kumar (@rahulk_1019) November 5, 2023
Throughout the 2023 World Cup, Virat Kohli has been in spectacular form, scoring 442 runs at an average of over 88. He is the third-highest run-scorer in the event, after only Quinton de Kock and Rachin Ravindra.
The contemporary great, who presently has 48 ODI hundreds, is attempting to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries. Following a match-winning century against Bangladesh, Virat Kohli was removed for 95 and 88 against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, respectively, to fall short of the three-figure barrier.
India Aims to Extend Their unbeaten streak in the 2023 World Cup
India’s team is the only one that’s won every game in the 2023 World Cup. They’ve played seven games and won them all. They’ve made it to the semi-final first.
The team captain, Rohit Sharma, chose to bat first in Kolkata. The cricket fans were excited. Rohit and Shubman Gill, the first batters, hit many boundary shots and scored 62/0 in just six overs.
Kagiso Rabada, on the other hand, struck in his first over to dismiss the skipper for a quick-fire 40. After being undone by a peach from Keshav Maharaj for 23 off 24 balls, Gill followed his skipper.
Virat Kohli had looked dangerous after the first few deliveries, racing to a run-a-ball 35 at the time of writing, with Shreyas Iyer on 10. The Men in Blue are constructing their innings in preparation for a rousing conclusion, and they are 122/2 after 19 overs.
Both teams secured spots in the semi-final, but the champion’s likely to lead the points board. If India wins this game, it’s their third straight ODI World Cup victory against the Proteas. They’ve beaten them in the 2015 and 2019 games already.