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Virat Kohli hammered his record 50th ODI hundred, breaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most tons in the format, in the first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Kohli struck nine fours and two sixes in his 117 off 113 balls. Shreyas Iyer (105 off 70) and Shubman Gill (80* off 66) also came up with significant contributions as India posted a mammoth 397/4 after winning the toss and batting first.
The Men in Blue got off to another rollicking start as Rohit Sharma (47 off 29) once again took on the opposition bowling at the start. The Indian captain was the dominant partner in an opening stand of 71 in 8.2 overs. In the first over, he whipped Trent Boult (1/86) for four and then whacked the next ball past mid-off for consecutive boundaries.
In the Kiwi left-arm pacer’s next over, he danced down the track and launched a six over extra cover. The big hits kept coming for Rohit until he miscued a slower ball off Tim Southee (3/100) and was brilliantly caught by Kane Williamson, who judged the skier to near perfection. The Indian captain’s knock featured four fours and as many sixes.
Rohit’s knock laid the platform for the other batters to dominate. Gill took on the role of aggressor after the Indian captain’s departure. He pulled Lockie Ferguson for two fours in the 10th over as India reached 84/1.
Gill enjoyed himself against the erratic Ferguson and reached his fifty without much trouble. Some big hits followed against the spinners until Gill retired hurt with cramps for 79 off 65 balls, having struck eight fours and three sixes.
Kohli and Shreyas take charge after Rohit and Gill’s exit
Kohli and Shreyas added 163 runs to completely subdue New Zealand’s bowling attack. The former began cautiously, reaching his 50 off 59 balls. At the other end, Shreyas came in and clubbed Rachin Ravindra for six and four off consecutive deliveries.
In the 30th over, Kohli stepped out to Southee and whipped him to wide long-on for a maximum. A few overs later, the Indian batter also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 673 at the 2003 World Cup - the most runs in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.
Kohli and Shreyas combined to take on Boult in the 36th over, smashing him for a six and two fours. Shreyas brought up yet another fifty by slicing Mitchell Santner to sweeper cover for one. Kohli then created history in the 42nd over, breaking Tendulkar’s record for most ODI tons.
He brought up his 50th hundred in the format with a hard-run couple of Ferguson. He jumped for joy, went down on his knees, and then rose to soak in all the applause.
Kohli’s special knock ended in the 44th over when he was caught at deep square leg off Southee’s bowling. This was after he was dropped earlier in the over. At the other end, Shreyas kept clearing the boundaries with ease at regular intervals. In the over after Kohli’s departure, he launched the first and last ball from Ravindra for maximums.
Shreyas then reached back-to-back hundreds with a six and a single off Southee’s bowling in the 48th over. After launching a maximum over deep midwicket, he knocked the next ball to long-on to reach a 67-ball ton. KL Rahul chipped in with a blazing cameo of 39*in 20 balls even as Gill came back to bat after Suryakumar Yadav’s (1) exit.
