(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The Kohinoor of Indian cricket, Virat Kohli, turned 35 on Sunday and celebrated the occasion by giving billions of Indian fans 101 reasons to smile. The legendary batter, who has been operating at an exceptional level, scored another brilliant and mind-boggling century against South Africa in the 37th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Kohli smashed an unbeaten 101 runs off 121 balls and equaled the record of the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 ODI centuries, achieving it in just 277 innings, whereas the latter took 452 innings.
To make this hundred even more special Kohli managed to do something that only a few cricketers in history have achieved – he scored his 49th ODI century on his birthday. This achievement puts him in an exclusive club of batsmen who have hit an ODI ton on their birthdays.
The list of these exceptional cricketers begins with former India player Vinod Kambli, who marked his 21st birthday with an unbeaten 100 against England in Jaipur back in 1993.
Sachin Tendulkar, when he turned 25, made a mockery of Australian bowlers in 1998 at Sharjah, where the Master Blaster smashed 134 runs. In 2008, the Sri Lanka’s explosive batter Sanath Jayasuriya celebrated his 39th birthday with a remarkable innings of 130 runs against India in Karachi.
The list continues with former New Zealand cricketer Ross Taylor, who, on his 27th birthday in 2011, scored an unbeaten 131 runs against Pakistan at Pallekele. Another New Zealand player, Tom Latham, takes the fifth spot in this exclusive group. On his 30th birthday in 2022, he accumulated an unbeaten 140 runs versus the Netherlands in Hamilton.
Adding to this illustrious company is the Australian hard-hitter Mitchell Marsh, who, at the age of 32, scored 121 runs on his birthday during the World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Virat Kohli, with his recent century against South Africa, secured his place in this list as the seventh batter to achieve this unique milestone, making his birthday even more memorable.
In addition to these impressive records, Virat Kohli also became the second player in ODI history to amass over 6,000 runs in a single country, achieving this astonishing milestone in India, following the footsteps of Tendulkar’s record of 6,976 runs on home soil.