Cricket legend Virat Kohli is once again breaking records at the will for Team India as they look to post a big score against South Africa in Match 33 of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Kolkata.
The capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens is being treated to a Kohli special as the former skipper reached his 71st ODI fifty and completed 500 runs in this edition of the World Cup.
Kohli is the first Asian batter to reached the milestone and the third overall to enter the 500 runs club in the tournament.
Kohli, who is also celebrating his 35th birthday, also completed 6000 runs in ODI cricket in India, becoming only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the feat. Tendulkar amassed 6976 runs in India and now has Kohli for company in this elite list.
Kohli also became the sixth Indian batter to manage a 50-plus score on his birthday after Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Ishan Kishan and Yusuf Pathan.
ODI 50s on birthday for India
S Tendulkar 134 vs Aus Sharjah 1998 (25th birthday)
V Kambli 100* vs Eng Jaipur 1993 (21)
N Sidhu 65* vs WI Mumbai WS 1994 (31)
I Kishan 59 vs SL Colombo RPS 2021 (23)
Y Pathan 50* vs Eng Indore 2008 (26)
V Kohli 50* vs SA Kolkata 2023 (35)
Most 50+ scores in ODI history
Sachin Tendulkar 145 in 452 inns
Virat Kohli 119 in 278 inns
Virat Kohli a legend of the game
Kohli has scripted countless records in the sport across formats and continues to do so, including in the the ongoing World Cup.
Speaking to ICC, India coach Rahul Dravid said, "Virat's a legend of the game, especially (in) this format of the game. I think all formats of the game, but particularly this one (50-over), I think his performance and the way he finishes games. The standard of his performance over the years has probably set a benchmark for his generation of cricketers."
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reckoned that Kohli has played a huge role in changing the DNA of the thought process in Indian cricket.
"He has changed the DNA of thinking around Indian cricket. How one batsman needs to perceive and prepare for the game."
