Virat Kohli equals Sachin Tendulkar's record with 49th ODI century on 35th birthday

Indian cricket stalwart Virat Kohli reached a significant milestone by scoring his 49th ODI century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match against South Africa at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. This achievement places Kohli on par with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who also has 49 centuries in 463 ODIs. On his 35th birthday, Virat Kohli secured this landmark by taking a single off Kagiso Rabada's bowling during the 49th over of India's innings.

Kohli, who was participating in his 289th ODI, came close to this feat twice in the tournament but narrowly missed the mark against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with scores of 97 and 88, respectively. Notably, Kohli's first ODI century was also at Eden Gardens in 2009, and he achieved his 50th international hundred during a Test match against Sri Lanka on the same ground in 2017.

As one of the leading contemporary cricket stars, Virat Kohli now boasts a total of 79 centuries across all three formats of international cricket, closely following Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record with 100 international centuries. In the World Cup, Kohli's century helped India reach a total of 326 for 5 in their 50 overs. The Indian team secured a place in the tournament's semifinals, winning all seven of their matches thus far.