During Wednesday’s semi-final clash between India and New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, history was made when Virat Kohli became the first batsman to reach 50 ODI hundreds. He surpassed Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar for the record of the most tons in the format by completing this.
Tendulkar, who retired from cricket ten years ago, amassed 49 centuries in ODIs and 51 more in Tests. In contrast, Kohli has amassed 80 hundreds in international cricket with 29 triple-digit scores, one more T20I century, and his ODI tonnes.
After batting at number three, Kohli reached his triple century off of 106 deliveries. In the current tournament, it was the former captain of India’s third century, coming after his innings against South Africa and Bangladesh.
The 35-year-old matched Tendulkar’s record in November at Eden Gardens, which is also the location of the latter’s final international match. It was also the first time, astonishingly, that Kohli has scored fifty runs or more while playing an ODI World Cup knockout game.
It took Kohli 106 balls to get his century, and he leaped into the air to commemorate it. Anushka Sharma, a Bollywood legend, and his wife were among the loudest supporters at Wankhede. Virat responded to his idol’s cheers by bowing low, and Sachin clapped as well.
The Moment Virat Kohli hits 50th Odi Century. #ViratKohli?pic.twitter.com/oUDjalJOoG
— Cricpedia Edits (@Cricpedia_edits) November 15, 2023
Shreyas Iyer writes history during semi-final 1 against New Zealand
Shreyas Iyer, the Indian batter, became only the third individual in history to achieve two century in a row during an ODI World Cup. In the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Iyer struck his second ODI World Cup century against New Zealand.
Together with captain Rohit Sharma (2019 World Cup) and head coach Rahul Dravid (1999 World Cup), Iyer became the third Indian batsman to get hundreds in back-to-back World Cup ODIs. On November 12, Iyer achieved an undefeated century in India’s last league stage encounter in Bengaluru against the Netherlands.
