Top Indian batter Virat Kohli on November 5 scored his 49th One-Day International (ODI) hundred, equaling the record set by his former teammate and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Kohli, while commenting on his feat in the post-match presentation, said he will “never be as good” as Tendulkar, whom he considers as a “hero”.
“To equal my hero’s record is a huge honour. I will never be as good as him, he is my hero. It is such an emotional moment for me,” he said.
Kohli reached the landmark during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match against South Africa, played in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, where he scored an unbeaten knock of 101 runs off 121 balls. The inning comprised of 10 fours.
Reacting to Kohli’s achievement, Tendulkar said he was hopeful that Kohli would break his record soon.
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“I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations!! (sic),” the ‘Master Blaster’ posted on social media platform X.
“It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year,” Tendulkar added in a lighter vein, referring to him reaching the age of 50 in April this year.
Notably, Kohli achieved the 49 ODI centuries record in a total of 277 innings. This is faster as compared to 451 innings taken by Tendulkar to reach the landmark.
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This was Kohli’s fourth World Cup hundred, and the second in the tournament’s ongoing edition. He is the third highest century-getter for India in the World Cups, behind Rohit Sharma who has seven to his name followed by Tendulkar with six.
In the ongoing World Cup, Kohli is the second highest run-scorer, with a total of 543 runs in 8 innings. At the first spot is South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, with 550 runs in 8 matches.
Kohli, who turned 35-year-old today, has so far featured in 289 ODI matches. He has a total of 13,626 runs to his name, at an average of 58. He is still trailing behind Tendulkar, who had scored 18,426 ODI runs in his career spanning over two decades.
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Updated: 05 Nov 2023, 10:51 PM IST