ODI World Cup: Virat reflects on monumental achievement after 50th ton, says 'all this feels like a dream'

History was scripted by India’s Virat Kohli on Wednesday (Nov 15) after he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s long standing record for most ODI hundreds. Playing in his 291st match for the national side, Virat reached the unique feat as India dominated New Zealand with the bat in the ODI World Cup semifinal contest at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He also broke Sachin’s record for most runs in a single ODI World Cup and now has 711 runs in 10 matches, surpassing the previous tally of 673 runs.

Virat reflects on special achievement

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“I said in Kolkata, the great man (Sachin Tendulkar) just congratulated me. All this feels like a dream, too good to be true. Feels surreal for me. Again a big game today, I had to play the role I have played throughout the tournament so that the guys around me can go and express themselves. Just glad everything came together so nicely and we put up a great total on the board as well,” Virat said after achieving the feat of 50 ODI hundreds.

In the 42nd over, Virat scored a brace which saw him reach the pinnacle of his ODI career. The feat now sees him at the top of the list with the most ODI hundreds followed by Sachin with 49 while another Mumbai-based batter and India skipper Rohit Sharma sits third with 31. He is followed by Ricky Ponting and Sanath Jayasuriya with 30 and 28 respectively.

“I have been given a role this tournament and I have been trying to play that to the best of my abilities - try to dig deep and bat long so the guys around me can play around me and have that confidence in the later overs where I can dominate with the bat as well,” Virat added.

Most ODI hundreds:

50 - Virat Kohli

49 - Sachin Tendulkar

31 - Rohit Sharma

30 - Ricky Ponting

28 - Sanath Jayasuriya

ALSO READ |World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli hits 50th ODI hundred, breaks Tendulkar's long-standing record to make history

Virat breaks Sachin's record for most runs in ODI World Cup

Before the start of the match, Virat needed 83 runs to break Sachin’s record for most runs in a single edition of the ODI World Cup. He achieved the feat in the 34th over as he went past the tally and now has the most runs in a single edition with potentially another match to go at the global tournament.

Virat departed on 117 and was given a standing ovation by the Mumbai crowd while Shreyas Iyer also scored a hundred in his hometown. India ended their innings with 397/4 while Shubman Gill remained unbeaten on 80 as he also fired with the bat earlier tillhaving suffered cramps. At the time of writing, New Zealand were yet to start their innings and need 398 runs to win the match and book a place in the final on Sunday.