What is the new record hit by Virat Kohli on his 35th birthday? Here's all you need to know

On his 35th birthday, Virat Kohli took the decision of not only having a good day for himself but also giving one to the whole country. Virat Kohli has equaled the world record of 49 ODI hundreds which has been hit earlier by Sachin Tendulkar. The man hit the record in the 2023 World Cup match of India against South Africa, held in Kolkata, on the special occasion of his 35th birthday.

Post his record-equaling, Virat Kohli expressed his joy through a statement in which he said how each and every chance to play for the country is a huge one for him. He further expressed that it is the stuff of dreams for him to do that in front of so many on his own birthday, and it is something that he had wished to happen as a child. He further added that he is extremely grateful to God for such moments in his life and to his fans for so much love.

The man hit a hundred off 119 balls, thereby equaling the record. It was in the 49th over of the match in India's innings when he hit the milestone. Virat Kohli equaled Sachin Tendulkar's prior record. Sachin hit his 49th century in his 451st ODI innings. However, Virat Kohli reached the record in his 277th inning out of his 289th match. He took the score of India to 326.

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It was in the 6th over of the match in which Virat Kohli began his innings. Shubman Gill got defeated in the 10th over holding the score on 93 for 2. Kohli expressed that it was actually a tricky wicket to bat on. "We got a great start through Rohit and Shubman, and then when I got in, my job was to keep that momentum going, but as soon as the ten overs got over, the ball started gripping and the wicket started slowing down as the ball got older," the man expressed.

"Our roles are different - me and Shreyas, we wanted to string in a partnership, and to be honest, as soon as we lost Shubman and Rohit within ten overs, my role was to bat deep and bat till the end because that's what I have done over the years and that's what the communication from the team was well; I bat and guys bat around me and then Shreyas started hitting a few. So, we were not thinking that we would get 327 but that's what happens when you dig deep and you take the game into the last few overs then you can get a few more than you thought," he further added.

With a third-wicket stand of 134 balls off 158, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were successful in keeping the momentum of India going.

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Kohli stated that Iyer and Kohli had a great deal of practice sessions prior to going to the Asia Cup. Both of them batted together in those practice sessions. Kohli expressed to Iyer that this partnership is what needs to capture the centerstage at the time of middle overs. 

At present, Virat Kohli holds two hundred in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. In the total of eight league games till now, he has attained four half-centuries. At present, Virat Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. The highest run-scorer in the tournament is Quinton de Kock of South Africa. It is the very first time that which Quinton de Kock has hit more than 500 runs in the ODI World Cup.

In the year 2023, Kohli holds a score of more than 1000 runs and 5 centuries. It is the 8th time that Kohli has scored more than 1000 ODI runs in a year, thereby successfully crossing SachinTendulkar's record of 7.

Here's how Sachin congratulated the birthday boy Kohli on X, formerly Twitter, on surpassing Sachin's record.

Well played Virat.
It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days.
Congratulations!!#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/PVe4iXfGFk

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 5, 2023

Holding a total of seven wins in seven games, India marked its entry in the World Cup semi-finals as the first team.

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