Kohli equals Tendulkar record as India thrash SA

The ICC Men's World Cup match in Kolkata saw India score 326 runs for five wickets in fifty overs. Virat Kohli scored an impressive 101 runs not out in 121 balls, followed by Shreyas with 77 runs off 87 balls and Rohit with 40 runs in 24 balls. South Africa struggled to keep up, and only managed to get 89 runs in 27.1 overs, with Jansen scoring 14 runs off 30 balls. Ravindra Jadeja was the star bowler for India, taking five wickets for 33 runs, while Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets for seven runs and Mohammad Shami took two wickets for 18 runs. India won the match by a massive margin of 243 runs. You can check out the scorecard and group table for more information.

Virat Kohli matched the achievement of his compatriot Sachin Tendulkar when he scored his 49th ODI century during India's commanding 243-run victory over South Africa in the World Cup.

On his 35th birthday, Kohli achieved a remarkable feat by scoring an unbeaten 101 runs from 121 balls, which led to the enthusiastic crowd at Eden Gardens going wild with excitement.

With an outstanding performance, he contributed greatly to India's final score of 326-5 after playing for 50 overs in Kolkata.

Afterwards, the South African team's batting lineup was completely dismantled and they only managed to score a meager 89 runs in 27.1 overs.

This implies that India has secured the first position by winning each of their eight matches in the group stage.

South Africa has confirmed their spot in the semi-finals and currently holds the second position with 12 points, while Australia lags behind in third place with a two-point difference.

Kohli and Iyer collaborated in a partnership of 134 runs for the third wicket, stabilizing the Indian team's innings after Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set a blistering pace and lost two wickets by the 11th over.

Shreyas lost his wicket to Lungi Ngidi at a score of 77 out of 87 deliveries. However, Suryakumar Yadav energetically scored 22 runs off 14 deliveries and Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten at 29 runs off 15 deliveries, which helped the team finish their innings on a high note.

India's seam bowlers were fierce, and their spinners were no less effective in sweeping South Africa's batting order aside. Among the bowlers, Jadeja stood out, capturing 5-33.

India and South Africa were the top performing teams in the group stage and this game had the potential to be a preview of the World Cup final in Ahmedabad, which is taking place later this month.

The impressive victory is unlikely to change India's position as the top contenders to win the championship for the third time.

Kohli Equals 'Little Master' In Cricket Terms

At Eden Gardens, the audience illuminated their mobile devices with excitement as Jadeja took a single off Kagiso Rabada, allowing Kohli to step up to the plate with 99 runs under his belt during the 49th over. The stadium was awash with radiance.

When Kohli made contact with the following ball, he hit it towards cover, allowing him to earn a single. This prompted an enormous outburst of joy in the stands. Kohli remained level-headed and raised his bat in a composed manner prior to removing his helmet and gazing towards the sky.

"Playing for India on any occasion is a significant moment and being able to do it on my special day, in front of an enormous audience, is the epitome of my aspirations. It is a childhood dream come true," stated Kohli, who hit ten boundaries during his performance.

It is such a great privilege to match the achievement of my idol.

Comparisons are very common - I will never be able to match his level of skill. He is flawless when it comes to batting.

This is a touching experience for me. I am aware of my roots and seeing him on television... his recognition holds great significance for me.

In his blog post on X, which used to be called Twitter, Tendulkar expressed his admiration for Virat's performance, stating "Great job, Virat! It took me a whole year to achieve the milestone of scoring 50 centuries after being stuck on 49 for quite some time. I wish you all the best in breaking this record and achieving your goal within the coming days. Bravo!"

Tendulkar, who is known as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, was able to score his 49th century after 451 innings and 462 One Day Internationals (ODIs). On the other hand, Kohli managed to reach this milestone in just 277 innings and 289 ODIs.

Currently, he holds the position of being the second-highest scorer in the tournament by compiling a total of 543 runs. He could possibly be considering aiming to break Tendulkar's record of achieving the most runs in a single World Cup, which currently stands at 673 runs.

In 2008, Kohli began playing in ODI matches with Sri Lanka as his first match. During the initial part of his career, he had the chance to play with Tendulkar. The two players, including their team, won against Sri Lanka in the World Cup competition held in 2011.

He was a member of the squad when Tendulkar completed his final ODI century against Bangladesh in Mirpur during the 2012 Asia Cup.

At that time, Kohli had already achieved 10 ODI centuries and it is possible that the 'Little Master' had a feeling about who had the highest probability of surpassing him.

Kohli's ODI cricket average is 58.48 - the highest for any player who has played at least 50 matches.

Additionally, Kohli possesses an impressive achievement when it comes to chasing a target in One Day International matches, obtaining an average of 65.24. Notably, out of Kohli's 49 centuries, 27 of them were accomplished while he batted second.

Tendulkar is still considered the top scorer in ODI games, having acquired an impressive 18,426 runs throughout his career. In addition, he holds the record for the most Test centuries with a staggering 51. Kohli, on the other hand, has secured 29 Test centuries, placing him jointly in 16th place on the list.

Due to the increasing demand for T20 cricket, it is anticipated that there will be a decrease in the number of ODIs played. This presents an opportunity for one particular cricket player to potentially achieve a milestone of 50 ODI centuries. This feat may become unimaginable to surpass in the future.

"South Africa Struggles In Chase, Again"

Maybe South Africa's destiny was determined when they were instructed to pursue after losing the coin toss.

Temba Bavuma's team has been performing exceptionally well in their World Cup matches when they start batting first, scoring 428, 311, 399, 382 and 357 runs on different occasions. Every time they have scored more than 100 runs, resulting in a victory.

The South African cricket team has failed to perform well in the two instances where they competed. They experienced a loss against the Netherlands and only managed to win by one wicket against Pakistan.

Their batting performance began with a very bad start as Quinton de Kock, who had scored the highest number of runs in the tournament so far, accidentally hit the ball onto his own wickets off a delivery by Mohammed Siraj when he had only scored six runs.

Their cautious strategy during the initial overs, intending to conserve the wickets before intensifying their run-rate in the latter stages of the innings, also had negative consequences when Bavuma and Aiden Markram were dismissed inexpensively, decreasing South Africa's score to 35-3 after the first ten overs.

Their performance didn't improve much as they kept losing wickets one after another, facing an India attack that managed to bowl out Sri Lanka and England for just 55 and 129 runs in their past two encounters.

Just four players managed to score more than ten points, with the best scoring player being all-rounded bowler Marco Jansen who got 14 points.

'Improvement Noted' - An Insight

The standout player, Kohli, expressed his thoughts on the match, stating that it was a significant game as they were facing the most challenging team in the tournament, who had performed admirably thus far. As today was his birthday, the victory held a more profound significance for him. He had a feeling that the match held a higher importance than just being another fixture in the World Cup, and he woke up with great excitement for the game.

Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, expressed his belief that the team is gradually improving. Over the course of the past three matches, their performance has improved particularly in terms of adapting to varying circumstances. Although England applied some pressure, the team managed to overcome it through working together.

Let's not jump the gun here. We still have a few major games to play. It's important that we focus on the present moment, as we've emphasized from the start. Our aim is to display our abilities.

The captain of the South African cricket team, Temba Bavuma, stated that they are aware of the difficulty they are facing and the negative perception around their team's chasing performance. However, he admitted that they did not perform well in the last game. Nevertheless, the team had an open and level-headed discussion about their batting strategies.

The cricket pitch behaved in the manner we predicted, despite receiving advice to the contrary. Our expectation was for it to worsen, but regrettably, we didn't modify our abilities to fit the situation. We might progress to the semi-finals, as we were provided with a good understanding of the pitch, and now it's our responsibility to adjust.