Virat Kohli finally surpassed legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the international batter with the highest number of centuries in ODI cricket. The former Indian cricket team captain slammed his 50th ODI ton against a hapless New Zealand bowling attack during the Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Kohli looked in tremendous form and he was able to reach the milestone in 106 balls with the help of 8 fours and a six. Ahead of the match, Kohli was tied with Sachin at 49 centuries and an almost flawless innings etched his name in the history books. This was also the eighth fifty plus score for Kohli in World Cup 2023 - the highest in a single edition of the competition.
Most 50-plus scores in a World Cup edition
8 - Virat Kohli (2023)
7 - Sachin Tendulkar (2003)
7 - Shakib Al Hasan (2019)
6 - Rohit Sharma (2019)
6 - David Warner (2019)
That was not all as Kohli also claimed another World Cup record that previously belonged to Tendulkar. He became the batter with most runs in a single edition of the Cricket World Cup.
Most runs in a single World Cup edition:
674* - Virat Kohli (2023)
673 - Sachin Tendulkar (2003)
659 - Matthew Hayden (2007)
648 - Rohit Sharma (2019)
647 - David Warner (2019)
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand.
Three of the four previous tournament games at the Wankhede have been won by the team batting first, with the exception being Australia's stunning defeat of Afghanistan, where Glenn Maxwell's remarkable 201 not out secured a three-wicket victory.
Both unbeaten tournament hosts India and New Zealand were unchanged.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
(With AFP inputs)