The crowd at the Wankhede Stadium gave a standing ovation to Virat Kohli on Wednesday evening as the ace Indian batter notched up his 50th ODI century. It was an unthinkable achievement that certainly put him ahead of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who had retired with 49 tons in the fifty-over format. After reaching the milestone, Kohli bowed down to Tendulkar who was enjoying the game from the stands.
Kohli scored 117 to fire India to a massive 397 for 4, the highest-ever total for any team in the history of World Cup semifinals. The total proved beyond New Zealand’s reach as they folded for 327 in the penultimate over of their chase with Indian pacer Mohammed Shami taking 7 for 57 to do the job for India again.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
Speaking about the former India captain’s preparations for such big games, batting coach Vikram Rathore said Kohli is very well aware of his role in the team perfectly and does not require a lot of attention from the coaches.
“He (Kohli) understands his cricket and we just help him prepare,” Rathour told the media.
“If he needs to ask anything he comes and asks, otherwise we let him be. He knows what he has to do now, that he needs to get in the right mind space and he is in a good mind space. He bats the way he wants to,” he added.
Rathour further said the mood in the dressing room was of delight as Kohli’s century propelled India into the first World Cup final in 12 years.
“More importantly winning the semifinal and getting into the final, that was really good. Of course, Virat scoring his 50th hundred was really special. He keeps working hard on his cricket and fitness. He is still really hungry to score more runs,” he said.
The former India opener said being able to execute their plans well has been the success mantra of the team under Rohit Sharma.
“They all have been working really hard and prepared well for this tournament. It is good to see that all the game plans have been executed well. We always believed that we have a very well-settled and intelligent batting group. We adapted very well to the conditions and situations,” he said.
(With Agency Inputs)
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