Virat Kohli finally surpassed legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the international batter with the highest number of centuries in ODI cricket.
The former Indian cricket team captain slammed his 50th ODI ton against a hapless New Zealand bowling attack during the Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Kohli looked in tremendous form and he was able to reach the milestone in 106 balls with the help of 8 fours and a six.
Ahead of the match, Kohli was tied with Sachin at 49 centuries and an almost flawless innings etched his name in the history books. This was also the eighth fifty plus score for Kohli in World Cup 2023 – the highest in a single edition of the competition.
Kohli had equalled Tendulkar’s record when he got to his 49th ODI hundred against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on his 35th birthday. The batter had made his first ODI hundred at the same ground against Sri Lanka in 2009.
Kohli’s highest score in ODIs came against Pakistan in an Asia Cup encounter in 2012 when he made 183 runs to help India chase down a score of 330 runs. As if to indicate the passing of the baton, that proved to be Tendulkar’s final ODI appearance for India.
The century on Wednesday was also Kohli’s 80th international hundred, which is second only to Tendulkar who finished his career with 100 international hundreds.
