Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli may have fallen just short of equalling batting legend Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries on Thursday, but he broke another major ODI record of his during the India vs Sri Lanka contest at the Wankhede Stadium. Kohli has now notched up 1000-plus ODI runs in a calendar year eight times, surpassing Tendulkar's record of seven such calendar years. (Highlights | Scorecard | Pics | Report | Points Table | Full Coverage)
Kohli crossed the 1000-run aggregate mark in ODIs this year during the 11th over of the India innings, becoming the fourth batter in the world to do so in 2023. The prolific 34-year-old batter needed just 34 runs to go past Tendulkar’s record.
Kohli eventually fell 12 runs short of equalling Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries. Kohli was dismissed after essaying a fabulous 88-run knock and combined with Shubman Gill in a pivotal 189-run partnership to take India to a strong position. The home team were batting at 255/3 after 39 overs at the time of writing, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul at the crease.
Kohli walked out to bat in the very first over, as captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed off the second ball of the match with a lovely off-cutter from left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka. Kohli and Gill had to endure a testing period early on, with Madushanka's new-ball partner Dushmantha Chameera coming up with a splendid initial burst. The right-arm fast bowler bowled back-to-back maiden overs to keep India's attacking batters tied down.
But as is their wont, Kohli and Gill eventually got going and the runs began to flow. The surface seemed a bit two-paced as the batters were repeatedly found checking their drives. But the duo bade their time in the middle and began milking singles to relieve the pressure. As they got settled and grew more conversant with the conditions, Kohli and Gill took toll of bad balls and coupled it with some strong running between the wickets to take India to a commanding position.
