Tendulkar scored 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup. Kohli surpassed that mark when he scored his 80th run in the semi-final on Wednesday and became the first batsman to score 700 runs in an ODI World Cup. By the time Kohli was dismissed for 117 off 113 balls, he had 711 runs in the tournament at an average of 101.57 and a strike rate of 90.68.
When he completed his second over, Kohli celebrated with a leap and a punch in the air, before taking off his helmet, raising his arms and bowing towards the stands, where Tendulkar stood applauding the achievement.
The hundred was Kohli’s third in this World Cup after five half-centuries in ten matches. In the semi-final, he entered the ninth over of India’s innings, with the score at 71 for 1, putting on 93 off 86 balls with Shubman Gill and 163 off 128 balls with Shreyas Iyer. Kohli brought up a half-century off 59 balls and then scored the next fifty off 53 deliveries, after appearing to suffer from cramps when he was in his 90s.
More to follow …
