The leading run-scorer Virat Kohli in the 2023 World Cup falls 5 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI tons, but plays a key role in India’s victory.
Virat Kohli was only a few yards away from matching Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds. He flicked Matt Henry direct to Glenn Phillips on 95, with only five runs needed to chase down New Zealand’s 274. As soon as he spotted the catch, Kohli smiled sheepishly and strolled back to the dugout, soaking up the crowd’s enthusiasm and shaking his bat at them, recognizing their support.
Though he fell short of the three-figure mark on Sunday, it won’t be long before he equals and then breaks his idol’s record. But, more crucially for his squad, he is taking on the role of Tendulkar in the 2011 World Cup. He has served as their talisman and nucleus, much like Tendulkar. In the 2011 edition, the little master scored 482 runs at 53.55, including two hundreds and as many half-centuries. Kohli has already scored 354 runs at an average of 118 in five games this season. Except for the Pakistan game, he was involved in each of India’s five victories this season.
When asked about Kohli’s form and approach, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was flabbergasted. “I don’t have anything to say about Virat. We’ve watched him do this for a long time. “He believes in himself to do the job,” he stated at the presenting ceremony. There are no more superlatives to describe Kohli’s greatness.
As important as he is to his own captain, he is a nightmare for the opposing captain. “As a captain, you must be proactive while also sticking to your plans. Consider matchups. “Virat has a response to almost every plan,” explained New Zealand’s stand-in skipper Tom Latham. Tendulkar’s batting was described in similar terms.
So far in this World Cup, all of Kohli’s knocks have come at important junctures in games and have strongly influenced the outcome. He arrived at the crease on the fifth delivery of India’s 201-run chase against Australia in the first game. They were soon three wickets down for two runs. He was offered a chance at life. Unfazed, he batted on and delivered a masterclass in anchoring a chase on turners. Tipping and running, nudging singles, smashing the rare four, and gradually overpowering the bowlers, this was typical Kohli.
He hit an unbeaten half-century against Afghanistan on a belter, a l6 against Pakistan, and a 103-run chase against Bangladesh. It was difficult because India lost both openers after a quick start. They needed someone to be calm, patient, and to shepherd the chase. Kohli was the man in question. Since Tendulkar’s farewell, he has become that man. The man who bears a billion hopes on his back.
It seemed symbolic that Virat Kohli put Tendulkar on his shoulders for the lap of honor at the Wankhede Stadium following India’s World Cup victory in 2011. “He has carried the hopes of a nation for so many years,” Kohli would say poetically. This was his gift from all of those individuals because he kept giving, giving, giving for India, and I thought what better way to realize his ambition than on his home turf, and then he gets a lap of honor.”
Virat Kohli would carry his country’s ambitions for the next decade or two. He was already a well-known batsman, but in the years that followed, he became the nation’s flag-bearer, its best batsman across formats, an all-time legend, arguably the best 50-over batsman the game had ever seen, and a successful captain, forging the team in his own image and transforming them into an unbreakable unit.
Virat Kohli
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