Arguably the most reliable batter of the Indian batting order Virat Kohli finally scaled the milestone that all the Indian cricket fans were desperately waiting for as the Delhi-born equalled Sachin Tendulkar to score the most number of centuries (49) in ODI cricket.
Kohli scaled the milestone while playing against South Africa in the 37th match of the ongoing marquee tournament at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. The moment came on the third delivery of the 49th over when the birthday boy punched a slightly short of a length delivery from Kagiso Rabada to cover and scurried to the non-striker end for a quick single.
Watch the video when Virat equalled Sachin's record:
Ravindra Jadeja who was batting alongside Virat at the other end hugged him and joined the Delhi-born in the celebration that followed. The entire Eden Gardens crowd erupted with ecstasy and cheered the Indian batting maestro as he soaked in the moment.
Virat remained unbeaten on 101 off 121 balls with the help of 10 fours and paced his innings at a strike rate of 83.47. He helped India score 326 runs in their 50 overs for the loss of five wickets. Interstingly, Eden Gardens is the same venue that witnessed the first-ever century of Virat's ODI career.
Renowned as 'King Kohli', Virat had scored 107 runs against Sri Lanka on December 24, 2009, to lay the foundation of all his centuries to follow. India were chasing 316 to win in that game and match-winning tons by Gautam Gambhir and Virat helped the Men in Blue scale the same.
The 35-year-old had come extremely close to equalling Sachin in the previous fixture while playing against the Kusal Mendis-led Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 2 but was dismissed on 88 by Dishan Madushanka.
