World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli helped Shreyas Iyer get his first boundary of the match.© X (Twitter)
Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten 101 to power India to 326/5 against South Africa in a top of the table clash of the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 clash on Sunday. Celebrating his 35th birthday in front of a jam-packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Kohli slammed his 49th century to equal batting great Sachin Tendulkar‘s record for the most number of tons in 50-over cricket. The former India captain also surpassed Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara to become the third-highest run-scorer of all time in ODI World Cup history.
Together with Shreyas Iyer, Kohli shared a third-wicket partnership of 134 after India captain Rohit Sharma had opted to bat.
While Iyer, who made a blistering 77, was struggling to find his feet early on in the innings, Kohli helped him get his first boundary of the match.
Iyer shuffled across and paddled Tabraiz Shamsi‘s delivery for a boundary. However, umpire Paul Reiffel gave it four byes initially.
But, after a brief chat with Kohli, Reiffel overturned his decision to award Iyer a boundary.
— Nihari Korma (@NihariVsKorma) November 5, 2023
Kohli’s century on Sunday is also his 79th in international cricket. So far, he has smashed 49 centuries in ODIs, 29 in Tests, and one in T20Is.
His record-equalling ton has come at the same ground where he scored his first-ever international ton against Sri Lanka in 2009.
The former India captain also joined an elite company of batters who scored a century on their birthdays. These players include Sachin himself, Vinod Kambli, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, and Mitchell Marsh.
(With ANI Inputs)
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