"Legendary" - Tennis icon Novak Djokovic congratulates Virat Kohli after his 50th ODI century in IND vs NZ 2023 World Cup semi-final
Legendary Tennis player Novak Djokovic reacted to Virat Kohli's sensational knock against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup match on Wednesday (November 15).
Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first in the contest. Rohit (47) gave his side a blazing start to set up a great platform for the middle order in the crunch game.
Virat Kohli walked in during the ninth over, after the dismissal of the skipper. He started watchfully and took some time to gauge the conditions.
Kohli kept rotating the strike and built partnerships with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, shepherding the Indian side towards a good total.
Kohli switched gears after reaching his half-century, and went on to notch up his 50th ODI century. He celebrated the feat by gesturing to Sachin Tendulkar, who was in the stands applauding him for breaking his record of 49 ODI centuries.
Djokovic applauded Kohli for creating history and playing another match-defining knock in a high-pressure game, by posting a story on his official Instagram handle. He wrote:
"Congratulations Virat. Legendary."
India reached 397/4 in 50 overs on the back of centuries from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.
Just glad everything came together so nicely: Virat Kohli
At the mid-innings break, Kohli reflected on his historic knock and expressed satisfaction that he could help his team's cause of reaching a good total. He said:
"I said it in Kolkata, it feels great for me honestly. It feels too good to be true, like the stuff of dreams. I never thought it would be like this in my career. Just glad everything came together so nicely and we put a great total on the board."
He continued:
"The most important thing for me is to make my team win. Whatever needs to be done to do that, I'll do it. I have to play a role and dig deep so the other batters can play their role around me. That's the only key to consistency, playing for your team at all times.
"As I said, it's the stuff of dreams. Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin paaji was in the stands. It's very difficult for me to explain how I'm feeling."
Do you think any other cricketer will break Virat Kohli's ODI centuries record in the future? Let us know your views in the comments section.