Virat Kohli becomes first batter to score 50 ODI hundreds

Indian batter Virat Kohli became the first to score 50 ODI hundreds, during India’s ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Kohli went passed equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries this afternoon, after having equaled the Tendulkar’s total in India’s match against South Africa on November 5 at the Eden Gardens.

Kohli has now scored 6 hundreds in 2023. This hundred against New Zealand is Kohli’s 5th in all ODI World Cups and his third of the tournament. He had scored a hundred on World Cup debut against Bangladesh in 2011 and followed that up with a century against Pakistan in 2015. Kohli had a great time with the bat in the 2019 World Cup but he did not have any hundreds to show for his efforts.

He is now also only the third Indian after Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma to score hundreds in the knockout matches of the ODI World Cups. Ganguly had scored an unbeaten 111 off 114 balls against Kenya in the semifinal of the 2003 World Cup while Rohit had smashed 137 against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal of the 2015 World Cup.

Kohli has been in sensational form in this edition of the World Cup, breaking several of Sachin Tendulkar’s records. 35-year Kohli now owns the records for most runs in a single edition of an ODI World Cup and the most fifty-plus scores in any ODI World Cup. Kohli, during his knock in the first semifinal, also went past Ricky Ponting to move to No.3 in the list for most runs in one-day internationals.

Source - Sportstar / India Today

- Agencies