Virat Kohli (left) and Sachin Tendulkar during India’s World Cup 2023 semi-final vs New Zealand.© X (formerly Twitter)
India star batter Virat Kohli slammed his 50th ODI century on Wednesday to script a new all-time record. During the Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final clash against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the right-handed batter scored a century to achieve the milestone. With it, Kohli also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar‘s previous world record of 49 ODI centuries. After crossing the 100-run mark, Kohli bowed down to Tendulkar, who was sitting in the stands. Tendulkar too acknowledged Kohli’s gesture as he clapped and hailed the former for achieving the feat.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was mighty impressed with Kohli’s gesture towards Tendulkar after the 50th ODI ton.
“Look after the 2011 World Cup Virat carried his guru Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders saying, Sachin’s carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, and it’s now our time to do the same for him. After winning that World Cup is where his journey started. And now on that very same ground, he’s broken Sachin’s record in front of Sachin himself, and after breaking the record Virat also acknowledged Sachin and even went down on his knees to pay respects to the his hero and the master of the game. This shows the nature and character of Virat Kohli,” Kaif told Star Sports.
“He’s a big player himself, but being a good human and giving due respect to his masters shows how disciplined he is. Also what makes this knock memorable is the stage on which he’s got it. There were conversations that his record in knockouts is not great, but he’s answered everyone by scoring a century, and ensuring that India qualifies for the finals,” the former India cricketer added.
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