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After the birthday boy Virat Kohli notched up the record-equalling 49th hundred in ODI cricket for India against South Africa in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, his wife and the Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma sent out a playful reaction on her Instagram stories. She shared the pic of Virat Kohli soaking in the significant milestone, captioning it “Apne birthday par khud ko gift,” accompanied by a heart emoji.
Virat Kohli came to the crease to a rocking reception from the fans at the Eden Gardens at the fall of the captain Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the sixth over of the Indian innings. The 35-year-old started with a few quick boundaries in the first powerplay stage to set the tone for his batting effort for the day.
When Shubman Gill was castled in the 11th over by Keshav Maharaj on a beautiful delivery which turned off the straight, Virat Kohli decided to knuckle down in his batting innings. He negotiated the good spells from Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj while taking the attack to Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi in particular.
The Indian batting superstar completed his fifty in 67 balls with five fours in the innings, while stitching together an important partnership of 134 runs for the third wicket, to put the team in a strong position. He also shared quick-fire stands of 30s and 40s with Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja respectively, in the backend of the Indian batting effort, to help propel them to 326/5 in their allotted 50 overs.
Also Watch: Virat Kohli levels Sachin Tendulkar after completing 49th ODI century against SA in CWC 2023
The hundred came for Virat Kohli in 119 balls during the 49th over, when he punched Kagiso Rabada off the backfoot through the cover region. The former Indian captain stayed not out on 101 runs in 121 balls, an innings which included 10 fours in total.
