49 centuries and counting! Virat Kohli now has joint-most variety of tons in One-Day Internationals, having equalled batting nice Sachin Tendulkar‘s document of 49 on Sunday. Kohli reached the milestone ton in his 277th innings, far faster than Tendulkar’s 438, smashing an unbeaten 101 towards South Africa in a Cricket World Cup match on the Eden Gardens. Interestingly, Kohli equalled his idol and former teammate on his thirty fifth birthday. As Kohli joined him on the prime of the rostrum, Tendulkar hoped that the previous India captain would go on to interrupt the document within the coming days.

“Well played Virat. It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations!!,” Tendulkar posted on X (previously Twitter).

Well performed Virat.
It took me 12 months to go from 49 to 50 earlier this yr. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my document within the subsequent few days.
Congratulations!!#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/PVe4iXfGFk

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2023

“Every opportunity to play for India is a big one, to be able to ton up on my birthday is a stuff of dreams,” stated Kohli whose century added to his ongoing whole of over 26,000 worldwide runs.

Kohli’s 101 not out was the centrepiece of unbeaten match hosts India’s 326-5 of their 50 overs.

“It is something you dream about as a child. I am just happy to help the team as much as possible,” added Kohli.

Together with Shreyas Iyer (77) he shared a third-wicket partnership of 134 after India captain Rohit Sharma had gained the toss on what turned out to be a tough pitch.

“It was a wicket that was tricky to bat on. We got a great start. My job was to keep the momentum going when I got in,” added Kohli.

(With AFP Inputs)