Virat Kohli equals Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI centuries

Sometimes it seems like the stars are against you, as demonstrated by the two times he narrowly missed the three-figure mark earlier in the tournament. Sometimes they form a happy concatenation, as they did this ecstatic Sunday evening, his 35th birthday, at the Eden Gardens.

Greetings, Virat Kohli. From this station, you will travel to a place where no cricket player has ever gone before. The next time he achieved a century in one day, he would have triumphed over Sachin Tendulkar, the player he has looked up to as a fanboy and mentored on the field.

After hitting Kagiso Rabada for an extra cover to reach his 49th ODI hundred, Virat Kohli finished the single before the electronic scoreboard at Eden Gardens flashed the score on its large screen.

After removing his helmet, Kohli gave the bat a halfhearted raise, looking up to thank the Lord while displaying his phlegmatic demeanor and beads of sweat trickling down his face.

Kohli has had a successful year thus far in 2023; this was his fifth ODI century.

following just one in 2022, which followed three years of introspection and, naturally, the pandemic.

But this Kohli was not the same. His famous roar, which has frequently enthralled his teammates on the field and sent fans into a frenzy, was not on display, nor were his clenched fists. Additionally, there was no blowing kisses or pointing the bat in the direction of the pavilion because Anushka Sharma, the spouse, wasn't there.

Was it the depleting humidity that prevented him from emulating Sachin Tendulkar's record of the most ODI centuries? Did it stem from a sense of respect for the Master Blaster?

Afterwards, Kohli, who scored 107 against Sri Lanka in 2009 for his first ODI century at the Eden, acknowledged that matching Tendulkar at 35 was "something you wish as a child" and the "stuff of dreams."

The feat that Kohli accomplished today is comparable to that of batting great Sunil Gavaskar, who in 1983 at the Kotla tied Sir Donald Bradman's record of 29 Test hundreds.

During his playing career, Gavaskar rarely checked the scoreboard. He didn't set goals, so when non-striker Dilip Vengsarkar approached him to congratulate him, he didn't realize what he had accomplished. Gavaskar just lifted his bat and proceeded to bat.

Similar to what the contemporary master batter did on Sunday at a crowded Eden, where the approximately 66,000-strong crowd began chanting "Kohli, Kohli" long before he had even begun to crawl into the nineties.

The DJ continued to spin hits at full volume, but the crowd's decibel levels had reached unimaginable levels.

It took four more innings to reach the milestone after Kohli's 48th ODI century against Bangladesh in Pune. In Dharamsala, a 95 was succeeded by a

Mumbai had an 88 and Lucknow had a duck.

Heartbroken, Kohli wanted it to happen at the Wankhede in front of Tendulkar. He quickly forgot it despite all of his teammates' and coach Rahul Dravid's comforting words.

In terms of numbers, 23 of Kohli's 49 centuries have been scored domestically and 21 overseas. The remaining five were accomplished in a neutral area. Tendulkar needed 451 innings, while Kohli needed 277 to reach his 49.

One could categorize Kohli's innings into multiple stages. He got off to a quick start, scoring four boundaries and reaching 18 off 14 balls. After the first powerplay, he started to slow down a lot.

Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, the spinners from South Africa, put a spanner in his scoring ways, allowing just 42 off the next 64 balls, including one four. Picking gaps and running singles amounted to more grinding.

However, after the seamers came back, Kohli persisted and picked up speed, reaching his century off 119 balls. India made short work of South Africa primarily due to his perfect 101 and the bowlers' display.

"Great job, Virat. Earlier this year, I went from 49 to 50 in 365 days. In the coming days, I hope you break my record and go from 49 to 50. Many congratulations! Tendulkar wrote a post on X not long after the 100.

Following the match, Kohli also made sure to thank him. The message from Tendulkar "is quite special." Right now, it's all too much to process. He is a perfect batsman. It's a sentimental occasion," Kohli remarked.

Tendulkar consistently declared that he would be content as long as an Indian beat his record. A World Cup knockout match would be an apt memorial to the Master, and Kohli is about to take the risk.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.