Star India batter Virat Kohli has equalled legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries and the veteran has wished him also. He wished that Virat Kohli would go from “49 to 50” much sooner than the 365 days it took him to turn a year older. And, Kohli referred to his feat as the “stuff of dreams” and opened up about how just equalling his “hero’s record” was a “very emotional moment” for him as well.
“Every opportunity to play for India is a big one. To be able to ton up on my birthday is stuff of dreams,” Virat Kohli said in the innings break at the iconic Eden Gardens, soon after his record feat. “Grateful to God that I’ve blessed with such moments.”
Meanwhile, India registered a huge victory over South Africa by 243 runs, and Virat Kohli was a bit more open about his feelings after the hundred that put him at par with Tendulkar in the ODI format as well.
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“To equal my hero’s record in ODIs is something that is a huge honour for me,” he expressed during the post-match presentation ceremony. “I know that people like comparisons but I am never going to be as good as him [Sachin]. There’s a reason why we’ve all looked up to him. He’s perfection when it comes to batting… he’s always going to be my hero regardless of what happens. It’s a very emotional moment for me. I know where I come from, I know the days that I’ve watched him play on TV, so just to stand here and get this appreciation from someone like him means a lot to me.”
He also opened up on playing another top team on his birthday, and at the Eden Gardens in front of about 65,000 people.
“First things first, it was a big game. Probably playing the toughest team in the tournament we’ve played so far, to be very honest. They played some amazing cricket so there was this motivation of wanting to do well for the team. Because it happened to be my birthday obviously it becomes a bit more special. People made it a bit more special for me. I had this sense of… it’s going to be something more than one more game in the World Cup. I did wake up with that excitement,” Kohli shared.
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“I would say I am enjoying myself playing cricket all over again. That to me is more special than thinking about phases [in my career] as such. I think in a phase when things are not working well, you’re not enjoying yourself, that’s what I take out of it. You’re still able to score runs because of your experience, but being out there even for those 50-60 runs is not as enjoyable as it is right now. I am just happy that god’s blessed me with that enjoyment again and I can do things for the team that I’ve done for so many years again,” Virat Kohli concluded.
