Virat Kohli went past Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds when he reached his 50th ODI ton during India's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (November 15). This was the first time Kohli registered a score in double figures in an ICC World Cup knock-out and much to the delight of the Indian fans, he converted it into a big score as the Men in Blue chase their first world title in ten years.
Kohli got to the 50th ODI ton landmark in 279 innings, in contrast to Tendulkar, international cricket's highest run-getter who had 49 hundreds in 452 innings. Rohit Sharma with 31 hundreds is number three in this list. Riding on hundreds from Kohli (117 off 113) and Shreyas Iyer (105 off 70), India posted 397/3 in their 50 overs with contributions from Shubman Gill also scoring 80 off 66 before leaving the field with cramps. KL Rahul's 39* off 20 was equally important. In the run-chase, the Kiwis were bundled out for 327 in 48.5 overs with Mohammed Shami emerging as the pick of the bowlers, picking 7 wickets for 57 runs.
Following, Kohli surpassding Tendulkars' record, the latter took to social media to congratulate the 35-year-old.
"The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn’t stop laughing that day. But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I am so happy that that young boy has grown into a ‘Virat’ player. I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record. And to do it on the biggest stage - in the World Cup Semi-final - and at my home ground is the icing on the cake," he wrote.