Admin Virat Kohli reached a historic milestone on Sunday when he scored his 49th ODI century against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Kohli’s century tied him with Sachin Tendulkar for the most hundreds ever in one-day international cricket history.
Image source: 12thkhiladi.com
The monumental century came on Kohli’s 34th birthday, making the achievement even more special. He brought up his 49th ODI ton in the 49th over of India’s innings with a single off South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. Kohli displayed his trademark batting mastery in reaching the landmark, facing 128 balls and striking 10 fours and 1 six.
In matching Tendulkar’s record 49 ODI centuries, Kohli proved he is one of the greatest batsmen the format has ever seen. He reached the mark in just 229 innings, while it took Tendulkar 463 matches to hit the same number of ODI tons in his legendary career.
Kohli now has his sights set on scoring his 50th ODI century in India’s upcoming World Cup clash against Australia. If Kohli can reach that milestone, he will stand alone at the top of the list for most centuries in ODI cricket history. The entire cricketing world will be watching to see if Kohli can claim the record outright on Tuesday.
Sachin Tendulkar tweeted “Well played Virat. It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations!”
Fellow Indian cricketer Suresh Raina joined Tendulkar in congratulating Kohli on his historic 49th ODI century.
He told “When I first met him, I remember every game he would say, ‘paaji aaj 100 banana hai’. Well done Virat, so beautiful, so elegant, just looking like a wow, looking like a wow!”
Indian business tycoon Anand Mahindra took to Twitter to congratulate Kohli in his own unique style.
“Kohli ka Kamaal. Janam din par Dhamaal. Thank you, Virat Kohli, for showcasing a brand of aggressive ambition that has transformed the aspirations of a whole new generation. We now accept no limits…”
