On the grand occasion of his 35th birthday Virat Kohli added yet another feather to his cap matching Sachin Tendulkar's hallowed record of 49 ODI centuries. Virat chose to notch his historic 49th ODI century on the same venue where he cracked his maiden One Day International ton 14 years ago. He clobbered an unbeaten 101 off 121 in the World Cup match against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata on November 5, Sunday.
Master Blaster Tendulkar once foresaw Virat Kohli as the heir to his records, a prophecy that Kohli has fulfilled with relentless passion and unparalleled skill over the years.
Meanwhile, commenting on Kohli's legacy, former England captain Michael Vaughan offered high praise. He described Kohli’s vigor on the field, his infectious energy, and the unmissable impact he continues to make even when not in command. "He is (Virat Kohli) incredible, you look at the number he’s 35 today but I’ve seen him as a 25-year-old and the way that he runs around the field, his energy, he’s a real buzz even though he is not the captain you can see still the energy of this team, still the driving force in terms of mentality," Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
Vaughan went further, predicting that Kohli's legacy would eclipse that of other Indian cricket legends such as MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, not merely due to the records he's shattered but for his transformative influence on Indian cricket. He lauded Kohli's emphasis on athleticism and fitness, which has remarkably elevated the standards of Indian cricket. “When he finishes and it will be in a few years I hope, I really feel that his legacy is gonna be huge because it’s not just gonna be his numbers, it’s not just gonna be his average of nearly 60 in one day cricket, plenty in test match cricket, probably breaks all the records. I think what he did for Indian cricket in terms of fitness, in the drive of fielding,” Vaughan said while commending Kohli’s contribution beyond the scoreboard.
“I think he has really driven Indian cricket forward and it probably did it more than any other player, I mean MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil back in the day, Sunil Gavaskar, absolute legends, and Zaheer Khan they were all incredibly great cricketers but what Virat did for Indian cricket in terms of really driving the professionalism in this that you’re required to become an athlete,” Vaughan added.
Kohli took just 277 innings to reach this massive milestone. In total, the 35-year-old scored his 79th international century. Besides ODIs, he has notched 29 tons in Tests and one in T20Is.
Kohli has now surpassed Kumar Sangakkara in tally of most fifty-plus scores in ODIs, achieving his 119th score of fifty or more. This milestone places him above Sangakkara's 118 and just behind Sachin Tendulkar, who leads the record with 145 instances of 50-plus scores in ODIs.
Kohli went on to score an unbeaten 101 off 121 balls riding on 10 fours with a strike rate of 83.47, to help India post a big total of 326/5.
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