Veteran India batter Virat Kohli on Wednesday (November 15) slammed a record-breaking 50th ODI century, going past legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record during the marquee World Cup 2023 semi-final clash against New Zealand in Mumbai.
Batting at No. 3, Kohli slammed 117 off 113 balls (9 fours and 2 sixes), helping the hosts post a gigantic total of 397/4 on the board.
Defending the total, India rode on Mohammad Shami’s seven-wicket haul (7-57) to bundle out the Kiwis for 327 in 48.5 overs.
After the game, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson hailed Virat Kohli as "the best" in the world and warned India's opponents that the superstar is "getting better."
"That's something quite special, I think if you play 50 games, some people would call that a great career," Williamson said in the post-match presser.
"But to get 50 hundreds...and not just that, actually the way he goes about it, it's actually about winning games for his team."
"I mean he's the best, isn't he? And he seems to be getting better, which is a worry for the opposition all around the world," he added.
Chasing the target, Williamson (69) added 181 runs for the third wicket with Daryl Mitchell (134) to give some hope to the BlackCaps. However, once their partnership was broken, the Kiwi innings fell like a pack of cards.
"That blue machine keeps rolling and they were too good for us today...They thoroughly deserve their win," Williamson stated.
"He (Shami) has been incredible. He's coming on first change, behind two outstanding new ball bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj). He's without a doubt one of the top operators in the world and the way he moves the ball and he keeps bringing the stumps into play. It's been quite phenomenal really, the amount of wickets he's gotten in such a small amount of games in this tournament," he said in praise of Shami.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will now face either Australia or South Africa in the summit clash in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19).
"They're the best team in the world and they're all playing their best cricket," said Williamson. "The way they've played throughout this tournament has been incredible. They haven't missed a beat...I've got no doubt they'll go into that next match full of confidence."
(With AFP Inputs)
