Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Virat Kohli's 50th ODI century ft. Wasim Akram
Virat Kohli became a part of history books as he went past the great Sachin Tendulkar and scored his 50th ODI hundred in India's 2023 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
It was truly an emotional moment for Kohli as he leaped with joy and then bowed down to his idol Tendulkar, who was present in the stands. It was perhaps fitting that his 50th hundred came on Tendulkar's home ground and that too in a World Cup semifinal.
Not only fans but experts in the cricketing fraternity were thrilled to see Virat Kohli rewrite the record books on the biggest stage. Here are some of their reactions:
#5 Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra hailed Virat Kohli as the 'greatest of all time' after his 50th hundred in the ODI format. He explained how enormous an achievement it was from Kohli and felt the latter was among the best to play the game.
Here's what Chopra had to say in a video on his YouTube channel:
"Virat Kohli scored a century, his 50th century. We say it's amazing if people play 50 matches. We say you are rocking if you score 50 half-centuries. However, if someone scores 50 centuries in a format, we say he is the greatest of all time. That's what Virat Kohli is."
Chopra feels Kohli is the fulcrum of India's batting line-up and has loved the way the star batter has taken to his role.
#4 Ravi Shastri
Former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri saw Virat Kohli from close quarters when he was the head coach of the team and hailed him for his incredible determination and longevity. He feels Kohli has a chance to even go past Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 international hundreds.
Here's what he told ICC:
"Who would have thought when Sachin Tendulkar got 100 hundreds that anyone would come close he's got 80, 80 international hundreds, 50 of them in the one-day game and which makes him the highest. Unreal. Nothing's impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. His next 10 innings, you might see another five hundreds. You have three formats of the game and he's part of all those formats."
Shastri also lauded Kohli for understanding his role in the team and continuing to bat deep and score a truckload of runs.
#3 Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh explained how fitting it was that Kohli got to his 50th hundred in front of the great Sachin Tendulkar in his home ground at the Wankhede Stadium. Harbhajan won the 2011 World Cup final at the same venue and felt this was another piece of history that the ground would remember.
Here's what he said on Star Sports:
"It won't be enough no matter how much you praise him. The best thing is that it came at the Wankhede when Sachin Tendulkar was also there. It is a historic ground. We won the World Cup here and now this 50th century has come here. We have seen history being created with our own eyes."
Harbhajan believes the monkey is off Kohli's back as far as the landmark moment is concerned and he feels that will allow the star batter to play with more freedom.
#2 Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan was delighted to see Virat Kohli's celebration, dedicating the hundred to the great Sachin Tendulkar, who was also present in the stands. He believes it is a proud moment for Indian cricket that two legendary cricketers are on top of the pile.
Here's what he told Cricbuzz:
"Big achievement. Lots of years and years of hard work, determination, sacrifices. You name it, you know, you play the game for this. Virat has been doing a phenomenal job of it, making a habit of getting hundreds. Sachin was there in the stands, so it was emotional moment for both of them, and both of them acknowledging each other is something which you want to see and the Indian holding the record strongly. So you have two guys there right now to give each other company."
Kohli also broke Tendulkar's record of most runs in a single World Cup campaign, going past 673 runs. He now has 711 runs.
#1 Wasim Akram
Former Pakistan legendary bowler Wasim Akram played international cricket against Sachin Tendulkar and claimed that he never felt anyone could go past Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries.
Akram was just in awe of Kohli's consistency over the years. Here's what he told A Sports:
"When Sachin finished with 49 tons, I thought 'kaun karega yaar' pachaas sau (will anyone ever score 50 hundreds?). You can still think about it as all-inclusive (cumulative centuries) across formats. But this guy (Kohli) came, saw and conquered."
Apart from Wasim Akram, even other panelists on A Sports like Misbah-ul-Haq praised Virat Kohli for continuing to be a big-match player.