Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, also known as the God of Cricket, aspires for his impressive batting records to be surpassed by Indian players. During the 33rd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Mumbai, the Master Blaster was unable to witness Virat Kohli match his remarkable feat of 49 ODI centuries, as Kohli fell 12 runs short of the milestone.
Tendulkar, who currently serves as the World Cup’s brand ambassador, graced the Wankhede Stadium with his presence to support Team India, accompanied by the former Sri Lankan spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Kohli’s inning came to an end at 88 runs, courtesy of Dilshan Madushanka in the 32nd over of India’s innings, leaving the Indian crowd in a state of disbelief.
Kohli, too, was disheartened by his near miss of Tendulkar’s record and was visibly regretful in the dressing room. Although Kohli has already achieved two centuries in the World Cup and appeared poised for another three-digit score, his dismissal was unexpected.
Nevertheless, Tendulkar is content with the idea that an Indian cricketer has the opportunity to not only match but also surpass his ODI record.
The God of Cricket, in attendance at the Wankhede stadium spoke about Virat Kohli closing in on his milestone, “The 49 ODI hundreds record is not my record, it’s India’s record. As long as it stays with India, I am happy,” said the Master Blaster.
It’s worth noting that Kohli had previously broken Tendulkar’s record for amassing over 1000 runs in a calendar year for the most of the time during his remarkable performance against the Lankans. Tendulkar had achieved this feat seven times in his ODI career, but Kohli overtook him during his 94-ball inning, which included 11 boundaries.
Kohli, along with Shubman Gill (92) and Shreyas Iyer (82), played explosive innings, helping India reach a huge total of 357 for 8 in 50 overs after Sri Lanka chose to bowl first after winning the toss.
The Indian pace bowlers then breathed fire with the ball as they bundled out the Lankan Lions for the just 55 runs. Mohammed Siraj gave early blows that was then continued on by Mohammed Shami. Both the pacers took 3 and 5 wickets respectively while Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah bagged 1 wicket each enroute to India’s 302 runs victory that also confirmed India’s place in the semi-final of the World Cup 2023.
