The 37th match between India vs South Africa took place on November 5, which was also Virat Kohli’s 35th birthday and he celebrated it in a wonderful way.
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Eighth consecutive victory
The winning against South Africa on November 5 mark India’s 8 consecutive win in ICC World Cup 2023, prove they will be a champion of this World Cup.
In this exciting match, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli are the brightest players as they both set a record together. While Jadeja picked his 5-wicket haul and became the 2nd Indian spinner can do 5-wicket haul in a World Cup match after Yuvraj Singh in 2011, Virat Kohli – the ‘Modern Leagend of India cricket‘ have celebrated his 35th birthday by his record-equalling 49th ODI hundred and stole all the spotlight of the game.
In addition, the Indian national cricket team also has a number of other heroes who have completed their duties well and contributed to the team’s victory. Shreyas Iyer hit a 77 while captain Rohit set a stage for the team, hitting a quick 40 on the tricky Eden Garden. Suryakumar Yadav scored with a quickfire 22 while Ravindra Jadeja hit a 15-ball 29, dismissing the South African bowlers in the final over and ensuring India finished with a total of over 300 in Kolkata.
Virat Kohli’s 35th birthday with the record
The match between India vs South Africa held on November 05, which is Virat Kohli’ 35th birthday and Kohli choose to celebrate it in a greatest way.
The Most men’s ODI hundreds see Kohli join Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the list, with the 49th ODI century in a World Cup.
| Player | Hundreds |
| Virat Kohli | 49 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 49 |
| Rohit Sharma | 31 |
| Ricky Ponting | 30 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 28 |
The list of top century makers in ODI cricket has three Indians at the top with Rohit Sharma with 31, behind Tendulkar and Kohli. Nine players have scored more than 25 hundreds in the men’s cricket format.
Kohli started the innings with his trademark free-flowing style, playing his shots and taking on loose balls from the South African pacers. Kohli remained unbeaten on 101 at the end of the innings.
Kohli has scored a lot of runs in this Cricket World Cup. He earned the Player of the Match when he scored an unbeaten 103 in 97 balls against Bangladesh in Pune, helping his team win by 7 wickets.
To equals with Sachin Tendulkar’s record, Virat Kohli have many time come to close the record.
When India against New Zealand in Dharamsala, there are 5 points left to equals the record. Then scored a 88 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, but still fail before he could cross the line.
And then, on Kohli’s 35th birthday, he finally achieved it. In fact, achieving the same record as his hero on his birthday was the biggest birthday gift of his life.
About his record in Kohli’s 35th birthday, he have some words to share with the reporter:
“Honestly, it was a big game, we were up against the toughest team in the tournament we have played so far. They played a great game of cricket. There was motivation to want to compete. Good match for the team. Because it happened on my birthday, everyone made it a little more special for me. I had the feeling of ‘today there will be something better’ instead because ‘there’s only one more match left in the World Cup’. I woke up with that excitement, yes.”
Tendulkar’s congratulation in Kohli’s 35th birthday
About Virat Kohli’s 35th birthday and his 49th hundred, Sachin Tendulkar has posted on Twitter (X) his congratulations message:
When Virat Kohli was asked about Tendulkar’s message about his achievement, He said with his all emotional:
“Tendulkar’s message is quite special. For me, everything is too much to properly express my feelings right now. Honestly, equaling my hero’s record in ODIs is something of a huge honor for me at the moment. I know people like to compare, I will never be as good as him. This is why we all admire him,”
“His perfection when hitting the ball. I tried to do my best, tried to win for my country. He is always my hero no matter what happens. This was a very emotional moment for me. I know where I came from, the days I watched him play on TV to standing here and receiving appreciation from someone like him means a lot to me.”
Virat Kohli said about Tendulkar’s congratulation message on Kohli’s 35th birthday
While Indian legend Tendulkar scored a century of 49 in his 451st ODI innings, Virat Kohli won it in his 277th innings in 289th match. This shows that Virat Kohli is very talented and worthy with the title “King Kohli“.
Kohli’s 35th birthday more special when in this ICC World Cup 2023, he is 2st highest run-scorer in the tournament with 543 runs and an average of 108.60 and strike rate 88.29, right behind Quinton de Kock of South Africa. It also be the first time he scored more than 500 runs in an ODI World Cup.
After a couple low-key years, Kohli now has more than 1000 runs with just 5 centuries, at an average of 72.18 and the strike rate of 99.82. It also the 8th time he has scored more than 1000 ODI runs in a year, passing Tendulkar’s record of 7th.
“I would say I’m enjoying myself, playing cricket again, which is more important than thinking about phases and things like that. I think while things aren’t going well, it’s just you’re not enjoying yourself yet. That’s why I got rid of it. You can still score points thanks to your experience. But out there, even running 50-60 wasn’t as fun as it is now. I’m so happy that God blessed me with that joy again and I can do again the things I’ve been doing for many years.”
Virat Kohli said about his achievement in Kohli’s 35th birthday.
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