Virat Kohli rates record 50th ton as ‘stuff of dreams’ and ‘too good to be true’ | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: As Virat Kohli conjured a historic 50th ODI century to surpass legendary Sachin Tendulkar for most tons in the format, the batting great felt ‘amazing’ after achieving the feat at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Rating the landmark ton as ‘stuff of dreams’ Kohli hit a terrific 113-ball 117, guiding India to a massive 397 for four against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
The record ton was Kohli’s third ton of the tournament as he maintained the top spot on the list of most run-getters at this year’s cricketing extravaganza.

“I said in Kolkata, the great man (Sachin Tendulkar) just congratulated me. All this feels like a dream, too good to be true. Feels surreal for me. Again a big game today, I had to play the role I have played throughout the tournament so that the guys around me can go and express themselves. Just glad everything came together so nicely and we put up a great total on the board as well,” Kohli said at the innings break.
“Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin paaji was here too. Difficult to explain this. If I could paint a perfect picture I would want this to be the picture. My life partner, the person I love the most is sitting there, my hero is sitting there and I was able to get the 50th (ODI hundred) in front of all of them and all these stands in Wankhede as well, such a historic venue so it was amazing,” Kohli added.
Leading the wishes from the front, Sachin lauded Kohli’s effort saying that the 35-year-old made achieving the feat look so easy.
‘A big, big congratulations to Virat, he made it look easy, he’s gone to 50 hundreds in ODI format. Incredible, super, we are all super proud of him. I still remember the first day when he got into the Indian dressing room. The other players played a prank on him and made him touch my feet saying that this is tradition, you have to touch his feet to take his blessings, that’s when you are going to have a good career. I was laughing away. Today to see the same player grow so beautifully and achieve so many laurels for our country, I am so proud,” Sachin said.
Kohli put on 163 with Iyer, who made 105 off just 70 balls as India notched a massive total in the knock-out game against the Kiwis.
Watch World Cup 2023 semifinal breaking: Virat Kohli scores 50th ODI ton, breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record