<\/p>\n
India\u2019s Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar\u2019s record of 49 one-day international (ODI) hundreds as unbeaten World Cup hosts India thrashed fellow semi-finalists South Africa by 243 runs in a pool match on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Kohli, on his 35th birthday, got to the landmark in 119 balls, including 10 fours, at Kolkata\u2019s Eden Gardens.<\/p>\n
It had taken him 277 innings to score 49 hundreds at this level compared to the 438 required by fellow India 2011 World Cup winner Tendulkar.<\/p>\n
Kohli\u2019s 101 not out was the centrepiece of India\u2019s 326-5 before their powerful attack cleaned up as Rohit Sharma\u2019s men made it eight wins out of eight at the tournament.<\/p>\n
Together with Shreyas Iyer (77) he shared a third-wicket partnership of 134 after India captain Rohit had won the toss.<\/p>\n
India, fresh from dismissing<\/a> Sri Lanka for just 55 \u2014 the lowest total by any Test side at a World Cup \u2014 during a 302-run rout of the 1996 champions, sparked another collapse as South Africa were dismissed for 83.<\/p>\n It was the Proteas\u2019 second-lowest ODI total, behind their 69 against Australia at Sydney in 1993 and lowest at a World Cup.<\/p>\n Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja did the bulk of the damage with 5-33, with India now assured of finishing the pool phase in top spot, while South Africa lower-order batsman Marco Jansen\u2019s 14 was the innings\u2019 top score.<\/p>\n This was South Africa\u2019s second pool defeat following a stunning loss<\/a> to non-Test side Netherlands and the gap between the top two teams on Sunday was almost as much of a shock as that reverse.<\/p>\n Kohli, now averaging more than 108 in the World Cup, said during the innings break: \u201cEvery opportunity to play for India is a big one, to be able to ton up on my birthday is the stuff of dreams. It is something you dream about as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n Tendulkar led the tributes to Kohli, the retired India great writing on X, formerly Twitter: \u201cWell played Virat. It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 (years old) earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n India had South Africa\u2019s Quinton de Kock, the tournament\u2019s leading run-scorer, out for just five when he played onto Mohammed Siraj before Jadeja bowled Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.<\/p>\n Mohammed Shami, coming off a superb five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka, struck with just his fifth ball when Aiden Markram was caught behind off a brilliant delivery that angled in and jagged away to take the outside edge.<\/p>\n Jadeja had dangerman Heinrich Klaasen leg before and 40-4 became 40-5 when paceman Shami overturned another original not out decision as Rassie van der Dussen was lbw for 13.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the challenge, know the narrative around us while chasing. Didn\u2019t do it any justice today,\u201d admitted Bavuma.<\/p>\n Earlier, left-arm quick Jansen, whose first over cost 17 runs, returned expensive figures of 1-94 in 9.4 overs.<\/p>\n Rohit launched the innings in style with a typically brisk 40 before he was well caught by Bavuma at mid-off.<\/p>\n Kohli carried on from where left off in his 88 against Sri Lanla with successive fours off fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.<\/p>\n But Keshav Maharaj, struck with just his third ball, the left-arm spinner bowling Shubman Gill (23) with a classic delivery that pitched just outside leg and turned to clip the off-stump Kohli and Iyer, who made a blistering 82 against Sri Lanka, rebuilt in patient fashion before the accelerating Iyer holed out off Lungi Ngidi.<\/p>\n But with a capacity crowd willing him on as thousands in Eden Gardens held up lights against the night sky, the composed Kohli\u2019s single off Rabada saw him to a fine hundred.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" India\u2019s Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar\u2019s record of 49 one-day international (ODI) hundreds as unbeaten World Cup hosts India thrashed fellow semi-finalists South Africa by 243 runs in a pool match on Sunday. Kohli, on his 35th birthday, got to the landmark in 119 balls, including 10 fours, at Kolkata\u2019s Eden Gardens. It had taken […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/11\/05205400f597882.jpg?r=205846","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tTendulkar tribute<\/h2>\n