Double celebration for Virat Kohli after matching Sachin Tendulkar's 49 ODI centuries

India's talisman struck an unbeaten 101 against South Africa in Kolkata, equalling the record haul by Tendulkar who was among the first to react on social media

Nick Howson | 05/11/2023 at 14:08

Virat Kohli says reaching a record-equalling 49th one-day international century on the day of his 35th birthday was the "stuff of dreams".

The India batter drew level with Sachin Tendulkar's haul with an unbeaten 101 against South Africa in the Cricket World Cup at Eden Gardens.

Kohli achieved the feat in 277 innings, while Tendulkar signed off his illustrious career with 49 in 452, hitting his final hundred in his penultimate ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur which was his 100th in international cricket.

During the innings Kohli lifted himself into third in the all-time run-scorers list in the competition's history, and second in the 2023 tournament only behind Quinton de Kock.

Virat Kohli - one-day international stats

Matches: 289; Innings: 277

Runs: 13,626

Highest score: 183

Average: 58.48; Strike rate: 93.55

100s: 49; 50s: 70

"Every opportunity to play for India is a big one for me," he said at the mid-innings after India finished on 326 for 5. "To be able to do that on my birthday, in front of the whole crowd, it's the stuff of dreams, something that as a child you wish had happened.

"I am very grateful to God that I have been blessed with these kinds of moments, so much love from the fans as well and just continue to help the team in any way possible.

He added: "It was a tricky wicket to bat on. We got a great start through Rohit (Sharma) and Shubman (Gill, who put on an opening stand worth 62) and then when I got in, my job was to keep that momentum going.

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Virat Kohli: The toast of Eden Gardens (Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)

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Sachin Tendulkar on his way to his 49th ODI century (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

"But as soon as the 10 overs got over, the ball started gripping and the wicket started slowing down as the ball got older.

"Our roles are different - me and Shreyas (Iyer), we wanted to string in a partnership and to be honest, as soon as we lost Shubman and Rohit within 10 overs, my role was to bat deep and bat till the end because that's what I have done over the years and that's what the communication from the team was well; I bat and guys bat around me and then Shreyas started hitting a few.

"So, we were not thinking that we would get (to set) 327 but that's what happens when you dig deep and you take the game into the last few overs then you can get a few more than you thought."

Well played Virat.
It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days.
Congratulations!!#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/PVe4iXfGFk
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2023

Tendulkar, who turned 50 years old in April, quickly took to social media to mark the occasion and backed Kohli to reach 50 hundreds before the end of the ongoing World Cup. Should India progress all the way to the final, Kohli is likely to have three more opportunities to reach three figures again and bring up another milestone.

"Well played Virat," Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations!!"