Virat Kohli finally reached the milestone of 40 ODI hundreds in the Cricket World Cup 2023 clash vs South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens. With this hundred, Kohli has now equalled the record for most hundreds in the ODIs, which is 49. Sachin Tendulkar was the first man to reach the landmark. Tendulkar, however, took more time to reach there, doing it in 452 innings. Kohli has done it in just 277.
Also Read | Cricket World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli Hits 49th ODI Ton, Equals Sachin Tendulkar's Long-Standing Record, Check Stats Of Both Batters Here
Cricket World Cup 2023 shared a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying that today the 'greatness met greatness'. The photo had both the Indian batting legends together.
Many more reactions poured from all over the world for the batting giant. But the most special one was from Tendulkar himself, the man who knows what it means to get to 49 hundreds in the 50-overs cricket.
Sachin shared the photo of Kohli raising the bat and wrote: "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."
Take a look at Sachin's congratulatory wish for Virat on X here upong reaching 49 ODI tons record:
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!!#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/PVe4iXfGFk— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2023
Virat came in to bat at No 3 when Rohit Sharma fell for 40 after having made a solid base with his quickfire knock. Shubman Gill followed Rohit to the hut soon as he was done in by a special delivery by Keshav Maharaj.
Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then formed a 134-run stand for the third wicket as India found the stability. Kohli's innings came to almost a standstill after completing the fifty as SA bowlers dominated in that phase. But Kohli knew he had to dig deep and continued to bat with patience. He looked scratchy at times and tied down by the bowlers but he managed to play till the end, finishing with 101 off 121 balls, which included 10 fours.
Sachin's praise and expectation from Kohli is great to see. India still play two matches at least in the tournament. The next one is against Netherlands in Bengaluru, Kohli's IPL home. He can break Tendulkar's record over there. He will have another go at the 50th ODI century when the team plays the semi-finals.
