Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar's 49 ODI tons record against South Africa on Sunday.
On Sunday (November 5), the star batter once again stood up for his team on a sluggish pitch against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Kohli slammed a gritty century (101 not out off 121 balls), propelling the hosts to a massive total of 326/5 in 50 overs. He also earned the Player-of-the-Match award after India won the match by a huge margin of 243 runs.
It was a special knock for Kohli as it came on his 35th birthday and he also equalled the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 49 ODI hundreds.
After the game, Virat Kohli shared his feelings on equalling his hero’s record while speaking to bcci.tv.
"Quite an emotional thing for me. I grew up idolising him, I aspired to play for India, watching him play and just equalling his record in ODIs is a surreal moment for me. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would get here, so I just feel blessed and grateful," Kohli said.
"As I said in the post-match, for me, he is always going to be No. 1, regardless of whatever happens. I am just happy that my journey has come so far and I have been able to make it here and able to win games for my country like he did," he added.
After Kohli equalled his record, Sachin Tendulkar tweeted: “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!!”
Reacting to Tendulkar's congratulatory tweet, Virat Kohli expressed his aspiration to achieve his 50th century during the semi-final or final of the World Cup 2023.
"I aspire to the same thing because if I do that, that means we have good chances of winning. So I would love to do it a few more times in this tournament, especially in the big ones, in the semis and the final, yes, fingers crossed. Hopefully, I can do that," Kohli said.