Cricket World Cup 2023: “Memorable hundred on a memorable day”- Netizens go berserk as Virat Kohli scores 49th ODI century on 35th birthday, equalizes Sachin Tendulkar’s record

Kohli now has the most white ball international centuries, with 49 in ODIs and one in a T20I

Cricket World Cup 2023: “Memorable hundred on a memorable day”- Netizens go berserk as Virat Kohli scores 49th ODI century on 35th birthday, equalizes Sachin Tendulkar’s record

Virat Kohli now has 49 ODI Centuries, the same amount as Sachin Tendulkar (Image via ESPN)

On 5th November, Virat Kohli equalized Sachin Tendulkar as the batter with the most centuries in ODIs. On his 35th birthday, Kohli reached a record breaking century in 120 balls against South Africa as India scored 327 runs in the first innings. 

Coming in to bat after Rohit Sharma departed for 40 runs. After losing Shubman Gill after 5 overs, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer built an impressive partnership of 134 runs. On tough batting conditions that helped the South African spinners like Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamshi, Kohli ensured he saved his wicket and reached his 49th ODI century in 120 balls. 

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Kohli now has the most white ball international centuries, with 49 in ODIs and one in a T20I. He is now tied with Tendulkar, with both scoring the most centuries in ODIs. This century comes after he missed out on 3 centuries in the previous 7 matches. In the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, he has now scored 542 runs with an average of 108.40. 

Related: Cricket World Cup 2023: Mohammad Rizwan wants Virat Kohli to slam 49th ODI century on BIRTHDAY on 5th November against South Africa[/relatedc_content]

Fans applaud Kohli’s gritty innings, some call him selfish 

As Virat Kohli took the single to reach his 49th ODI century, the fans in the Eden Gardens roared in happiness as Kohli equalized Sachin Tendulkar’s record. While Tendulkar has played 452 innings to score 49 centuries, Kohli took only 277 innings. The batter with the most centuries after the duo is Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who has 31 centuries. 

Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli looks up at the night sky (Image via ESPN)

Many Netizens were elated as Kohli got his century, saying the innings was one of the toughest he had ever played. Meanwhile others were very critical of him. Many accused Kohli of slowing down so that he could reach a personal milestone. 

Check out their reactions here: 

https://twitter.com/PsychoO_Says/status/1721143306015711390?s=20
https://twitter.com/Sana_J1/status/1721139122491064451?s=20
https://twitter.com/OfclMaula/status/1721139197589831785?s=20

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