Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India]: Before the start of the ODI World Cup 2023 between India and Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, former ‘Men in Blue’ skipper Virat Kohli received cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s number ’10’ jersey.
The ‘Master Blaster’ sent his Blue jersey which he wore in his last ODI match against Pakistan in 2012.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to their official X (formerly Twitter) account and shared pictures of the moment when Kohli received the legendary jersey.
“A special occasion & a special pre-match moment. Sachin Tendulkar 2011 and Virat Kohli 2023,” BCCI wrote on X.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the first player in the history of ODI cricket to score 50 centuries. Moments later Virat’s gesture stole the show as he bowed to Sachin who was applauding in the stands witnessing the star batter breaking his record.
Virat scored 117 in 113 balls in the first semi-final match against New Zealand.
His knock consisted of nine fours and two sixes. Virat scored his runs at a strike rate of over 103. He was eventually dismissed by Tim Southee.
In India’s 10 matches of the tournament, the 35-year-old has scored 691 runs at an average of 115.16 and a strike rate of over 89. His best score is 117. Virat has scored three centuries and five fifties in 10 innings in the tournament and is the highest run-getter.
The former India skipper has scored the highest number of runs in a Cricket World Cup edition, going past Sachin’s record of 673 runs in the 2003 edition of the tournament.
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (Wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (C), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.