In another historic day in Indian cricket, Virat Kohli brought his record-breaking 50th ODI century with a stunning knock against New Zealand in the World Cup 2023 semifinal on Wednesday, November 15. Hundreds from Kohli and Shyreas Iyer inspired India to the highest total in World Cup knockouts and to a potential final.
Kohli famously equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries during the South Africa game at Eden Garden on his 35th birthday. He missed the 49th hundred at Wankhede when he scored 88 runs against Sri Lanka in the group-stage game but treated fans by bringing the 50th hundred at the same venue.
After Kohli's hundred, a crowd cheered the loudest with Sachin Tendulkar applauding from the stands as well. Kohli acknowledged Sachin's applause by bowing down to the God of cricket and also shared his feelings during the mid-innings.
"The great man just congratulated me and it feels like a dream," Kohli said after scoring a hundred. "Too good to be true. Big game for us and I played the role so that the guys around me can come and express themselves. As I said, for me the most important thing is to make my team win. I've been given a role this tournament and I'm trying to dig deep. That's the key to consistency - play according to the situation and play for the team.
"It's the stuff of dreams. Sachin paaji was there in the stands. It's very difficult for me to express it. My life partner, my hero - he's sitting there. And all these fans at the Wankhede. To get to 400 is amazing; a lot of credit needs to go to Shreyas. KL finished it with a flurry [of boundaries]."
New Zealand Playing XI: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
