Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries with a fighting 101-run knock against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. As Kohli walked back to the dressing room, former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate AB de Villiers congratulated him on the field. The video of two friends has been making rounds on social media.
Earlier in the day, Kohli met De Villiers before the match as they shared a heartwarming match. The former South Africa captain also shared a video message on social media for Kohli’s 35th birthday.
"Virat Kohli, my biscuit, Happy-Happy Birthday. I hope you have the most amazing day. You are my brother, you know that. Lots of love from me to you. I am really happy that I will be seeing you today on your birthday, will give you a big hug. See you at the ground. Thanks for all the great memories and the good times that we have had together. Happy Birthday my friends, enjoy your day," the Proteas batter said in his message.
Kohli scored 101 runs from 121 balls including 10 fours. He shared a crucial partnership of 124 runs for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer. His unbeaten knock helped India post a total of 326/5 on the board.
This was the first time Kohli scored two centuries in a World Cup edition. So far, he has scored 543 runs from eight innings in the tournament at an average of 108.60. He is just seven runs behind Quinton de Kock who has 550 runs from eight innings at an average of 68.75.
The 35-year-old also surpassed Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara on two lists. He has the second-most number of fifty-plus scores in ODI World Cups after Tendulkar. Also, he went past him on the list of most runs in ODI World Cups. Sangakkara has 1,532 runs from 35 innings at an average of 56.74 including five centuries and seven half-centuries. On the other hand, Kohli has 1,573 runs from 34 innings at an average of 58.25 including four centuries and 10 fifties.
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