Virat Kohli Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar’s Record with 50th ODI Century
In a historic moment for Indian cricket, Virat Kohli has surpassed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar as the international batter with the highest number of centuries in One Day International (ODI) cricket. Kohli achieved this feat during the Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Facing a hapless New Zealand bowling attack, Kohli displayed tremendous form and reached his 50th ODI century in just 106 balls. His innings included 8 fours and a six. Prior to this match, Kohli was tied with Sachin at 49 centuries, and his flawless performance etched his name in the history books. Furthermore, this was Kohli’s eighth fifty-plus score in the World Cup 2023, making him the player with the highest number of such scores in a single edition of the competition.
Kohli not only surpassed Tendulkar’s record for the highest number of ODI centuries but also claimed another World Cup record previously held by Tendulkar. He became the player with the most runs in a single edition of the Cricket World Cup. Kohli’s tally of 674 runs in the current edition surpassed Tendulkar’s 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup.
The Wankhede Stadium has favored the team batting first in previous tournament games, with the exception of Australia’s remarkable victory over Afghanistan. However, in the semifinal match, Rohit Sharma, the Indian team captain, won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand.
Both India and New Zealand remained unchanged for this crucial match. India’s team included Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj. New Zealand’s team consisted of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Trent Boult.
This historic achievement by Virat Kohli has solidified his place as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.
