On Wednesday, at the Wankhede stadium, Virat Kohli became the first-ever cricketer to reach the milestone of 50 ODI centuries. That it came in a high-profile World Cup 2023 semi-final made it even more special, adding the cherry on the cake was that he did it in front of his idol, Sachin Tendulkar, who previously held the record of 49 ODI centuries.
More than the New Zealand bowlers, it seemed that Virat Kohli had to battle the heat and humidity of Mumbai and he trudged cautiously in his last 10-15 runs to eventually get to his incredible achievement.
Apart from raising his 50th ODI century, Kohli, during his knock of 117 runs in 112 balls against New Zealand, also broke Tendulkar’s record of 673 runs from the 2003 World Cup. He now has 711 runs in 10 innings at an average of 101 with 5 fifties and 3 centuries in his tournament.
Rohit Sharma’s 47 off 29 balls laid the platform for Shubman Gill to hit a half-century, he scored 80, followed by centuries for Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, which were followed by a cameo from KL Rahul, all leading to a gigantic total of 397 runs for India, with victory and a place in the final all but sealed.
During his knock, Kohli hit a tremendous six to Tim Southee, which astonished even the great Viv Richards, who was in the commentary box at that time. Kohli stepped out of his crease to Southee and with a flick of his wrists, deposited the ball over deep mid-wicket for a handsome sixer.
Commentating on that six, Viv Richards heaped rich praises on Virat Kohli’s timing and wrist-work to send that ball for a six.
Watch: flicked six from Virat Kohli to Southee impressed Viv Richards
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Kohli shared a partnership of 93* (86) with Shubman Gill, who had to retire hurt due to cramps, and then of 163 (128) with Shreyas Iyer, who recorded consecutive hundreds, following on from his century against the Netherlands in Bangalore. Kohli walloped 9 fours and 2 sixes in his record-breaking knock.
