King gets past God

MUMBAI: India's modern-day batting virtuoso Virat Kohli has done what most cricketers can only dream of accomplishing as he has surpassed the 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar to score his 50th ODI century in the ongoing World Cup semifinal while playing against New Zealand.

Renowned as "King Kohli", the right-handed batter took centre stage in the ninth over of India's innings in the semis after Tim Southee deceived skipper Rohit Sharma off a slower delivery. Kohli scored his hundred off 106 balls, hitting eight boundaries and one maximum.

His 50th century came in 279 innings. There were huge expectations of Kohli breaking the record at the Wankhede after he failed to do so in India’s last league match against the Netherlands. He had equalled the record with an unbeaten 101 against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 5.

While Tendulkar penned a heartfelt message on social media to congratulate the star batter, Kohli thanked the legend while speaking during the mid-innings break.

An emotional Kohli said: “Again, the great man just congratulated me. It feels like a dream. 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 (Iyer). K L (Rahul) finished it with a flurry.” Agencies

Also Read: Virat Kohli breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs in an ODI WC

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