Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record with his 49th ODI century on November 5 in Kolkata during the World Cup 2023 group stage match against South Africa. Additionally, this is Virat Kohli’s 2nd century in the CWC 2023 and his fourth overall.
India maintained its winning record on Sunday. They beat South Africa by 243 runs in an ODI World Cup 2023 game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
As India took on South Africa in the ICC Cricket World Cup at Kolkata’s famed Eden Gardens venue, the cricket world was filled with joy. Because Kohli’s 35th birthday fell on the day of the match, it had extra meaning.
India beat South Africa convincingly at the CWC 2023 Group Stage Match
The historic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata was the site of India’s ICC Cricket World Cup match against South Africa. The game had the cricket world buzzing with joy.
The star batsman delivered on his promise that day. He helped steady the Indian innings when Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were out.
Kohli started his innings in style, treating the crowd to his cover drive off Rabada’s bowling. As he settled into his rhythm. He showed his class and skill, scoring runs with ease.
He reached his 71st ODI half-century, much to the delight of the fans at Eden Gardens. This was a significant milestone for Kohli. By scoring 58 runs, he went past the record of 500 runs in a single World Cup.
He shared a third-wicket stand of 134 with Shreyas Iyer (77) after India skipper Rohit won the toss.
After thrashing Sri Lanka for just 55 runs, the lowest score by any Test team in a World Cup, India caused another collapse by dismissing South Africa for just 83 runs in a 302-run defeat of the 1996 champions.
It was the Proteas’ lowest-ever World Cup score. It is also their second-lowest ODI total, behind their 69 against Australia in Sydney in 1993.
The main damage was done by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with a 5-33 total. India is now firm to win the pool stage, while South Africa’s Marco Jansen, a lower-order batsman, scored the highest of the innings with 14.
Let’s look at the list of records set by Virat Kohli in the CWC 2023 match between India and South Africa:
1 – Surpassed the record of most ODI centuries held by Sachin Tendulkar.:
Virat Kohli was only one century away from tying Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most One Day International (ODI) centuries in cricket history, having amassed an incredible 48 hundred before this pivotal encounter.
Virat Kohli put on an amazing show in this eagerly awaited CWC 2023 match against South Africa, hitting his 49th ODI century. Kohli equalled the record for the most ODI 100s in the history of the game. He has surpassed the mark set by the great Sachin Tendulkar.
2 –Became the second batsman in India to reach 6000+ ODI runs, behind Sachin Tendulkar.:
Playing at home, Virat Kohli created history by becoming just the 2nd batter to break the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. Only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of him. The all-time top ODI run scorer in the world is Sachin Tendulkar. He scored 6974 runs in one-day cricket played in India. Sachin averaged a huge 48.11 across 160 innings.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli proved his great consistency and brilliance in the ODI format by achieving this feat in just 119 innings. With this victory, Kohli made his reputation as one of India’s most decorated and reliable ODI batsmen.
3 – Surpassed Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar to become the third Indian batsman to score a century on their birthday. :
Being the third Indian batsman to get a century on his birthday, Virat Kohli set this huge feat. This huge feat occurred during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup match between South Africa and India.
The only two other Indian cricketers to score hundreds on their birthdays before Kohli were the great Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin celebrated turning 25 in 1998 by scoring 134 runs against Australia in Sharjah. Vinod Kambli scored an unbeaten century on his 21st birthday against England in Jaipur in 1993. On his 35th birthday, Kohli got a century in the CWC 2023.
Virat Kohli became the 3rd batter to score a century during a World Cup on his birthday. Ross Taylor (2011) and Mitchell Marsh (2023) are the other two.
4 – Became the third-highest ICC Cricket World Cup run scorer.:
With his huge effort against South Africa in Kolkata, Virat Kohli moved up to the top of the ODI World Cup run-scorer leaderboard, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara.
In addition, he became the 2nd Indian player and only the fourth player overall to score 1500 runs in an ODI World Cup. The only two players with more runs in ODI World Cup history are former Australia captain Ricky Ponting (1743 runs in 46 games) and the great Sachin Tendulkar (2278 runs in 45 games).
