Fans assembled at the Wankhede Stadium for the semi-final encounter between India and New Zealand were up for a treat on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma started the proceedings with an explosive 29-ball 47, before Virat Kohli joined the party. Kohli, who is in breathtaking form, produced yet another imperious batting display and this time he overtook his idol Sachin Tendulkar to script a massive record.
Kohli scored 117 off 113 balls before getting out to Tim Southee in the 44th over and in the process he also became the batter with the highest number of tons in ODIs. Kohli now has 50 centuries under his name, one more than Tendulkar.
Despite achieving a massive feat, Kohli didn’t forget to acknowledge his idol, who was in attendance. The former India skipper turned towards the idol and bowed in respect, a moment which was an instant hit with the fans.
Not just fans but the ex-cricketers were equally overwhelmed with Kohli’s feat as former England skipper Nasser Hussain felt the script couldn’t have been written any better.
“You could not write a better script, to be honest. I played against Sachin and I never thought I would see someone go past Sachin in my lifetime, to be honest. Sachin was the best batter I have ever seen. For this lad to do it on Sachin’s home ground with Sachin in attendance in a World Cup semi-final, with such style and power, it was just awesome. The modern day master has just gone past the Little Master. He’s the best in the world, it’s as simple as that. He’s a genius,” he said while speaking on Star Sports show ‘CRICKET LIVE’.
While he praised Kohli, Hussain didn’t forget to mention Rohit’s role in helping India get off to a strong start. He added: “Kohli will get the headlines but Rohit did what he has been doing superbly at this World Cup. All those talks about India buckling under pressure in World Cup knockouts were out to rest by that innings in the powerplay by Rohit.”
The win took India to the final, where they will either meet South Africa or Australia. The final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.