Former India captain Virat Kohli is living his dream at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata where he smashed his 49th ODI hundred in the ongoing Match 37 of the ICC World Cup 2023 against South Africa.
Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar's world record for the most ODI hundreds on his 35th birthday to give the capacity crowd just what they came to watch at the iconic venue.
Kohli also equalled Tendulkar's record for the most runs in a single country in ODI cricket after amassing 6000 runs in India during his unbeaten century.
Kohli, Iyer power India past 300
Kohli's 101* came off 121 balls while Shreyas Iyer smashed 77 as India posted 326 for 5 in 50 overs after Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against the Proteas.
"It's the stuff of dreams. I'm grateful to god for giving me the chance to play and contribute to the team's success. It's great to get a hundred on my birthday in front of this big crowd at this great venue," Kohli said at the mid-innings break.
Kohli praises Iyer's knock
Kohli also praised Iyer for the way he batted during their 134-run partnership for the third wicket after Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got the Men in Blue off to a flying start.
"It was a wicket that was tricky to bat on, we got a great start from Rohit and Shubman, my job was to keep it going on. The ball started gripping and turning, it slowed down and then my role was to bat deep.
"That was what was communicated to me by the team management, Shreyas played well and we got a few more runs towards the end.
"We had a lot of chats during the Asia Cup, we bat at 3 and 4, so this was the partnership that was needed to take the game forward. We don't have Hardik in the team, so we knew a wicket or two could cost us, we had to dig deep and take the match deep," Kohli added.
