Kolkata (West Bengal) [India] : Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly heaped praise on Virat Kohli for achieving the milestone of 50 ODI centuries in the World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai 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 surpassing his record.
Sourav Ganguly, a former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, told that he doesn’t have any adjective to define Virat’s record.
“I don’t know if anyone can break such a record and Virat Kohli has not finished playing yet. He is only 35 and he will play more for India. It is a monumental achievement. I have played with Sachin all the time when he got to 49, we thought how big is that and he (Kohli) passed it. My congratulations to him also on the way he batted in this World Cup,” Ganguly told.
“It has been fascinating how the team has played in this World Cup. It is just unreal and fantastic to watch. Good wishes to every member of the team for the final match,” he added.
Virat scored 117 in 113 balls in the important match. 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. He 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.