Kohli climbs the highest pedestal
It was never in doubt, and probably only a matter of when than if for star India batter Virat Kohli, who now occupies the highest pedal in ODI cricket. On Wednesday, Kohli scored a record 50th ODI ton in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai to break the record of 49 ODI hundreds he had shared with Sachin Tendulkar.
He did so on his former India team-mate's home ground, with Tendulkar among those applauding at the Wankhede Stadium as Kohli bowed towards his childhood hero and fellow 2011 World Cup-winner.
"It feels like a dream. Too good to be true," said Kohli at the innings break after India piled up 397-4 -- the highest-ever score recorded in a World Cup knockout game.
This was Kohli's 279th ODI innings, with the former India captain having also scored a further 71 fifties in addition to his 50 hundreds. Tendulkar, whose previous record of 49 had been equalled by Kohli 10 days ago in the group stage win over South Africa, hailed his compatriot's "passion and skill".
"The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn't stop laughing that day," Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I couldn't be happier that an Indian broke my record.
"And to do it on the biggest stage - in the World Cup semi-final - and at my home ground is the icing on the cake."
Kohli the only batter to 700
Kohli also reached another incredible milestone following his incredible knock yesterday.
Not only did the right-handed batter polish his underwhelming records in semifinals -- he had scored 1, 1, 9 in his last three World Cup semifinals -- with his 113-ball 117, he also became the first batter in World Cup history to surpass the 700-run mark in a single edition of the tournament.
Kohli has now scored 711 runs at a staggering 101.57 average in 10 matches this World Cup so far. In doing so, he surpassed Tendulkar's record of 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 World Cup.
Kohli overtakes Tendulkar, Shakib
Yesterday's knock was Kohli's third hundred in this World Cup, making it his eighth fifty-plus score in this edition. With that he also surpassed Tendulkar and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan's joint record for most fifty-plus innings in a single edition of the World Cup.
Tendulkar had seven fifty-plus innings in the 2003 edition while Shakib had seven fifty-plus innings in the 2019 World Cup in England.
Kohli leaves Ponting behind
Run-machine Kohli also went past Australia's Ricky Ponting to become the third-highest run-getter in ODIs.
Kohli, who batted in his 279th ODI innings yesterday, has now scored 13794 runs. Ponting has scored 13704 runs in 365 innings.
Rohit rains sixes
Kohli might have stolen the show against New Zealand yesterday, but India skipper Rohit Sharma was not far behind in setting records.
Rohit scored a quickfire 29-ball 47, smashing four boundaries and as many sixes, to give India a flying start. In doing so, Rohit, who has now smoked a total of 50 maximums, has surpassed Chris Gayle's record of 49 sixes in World Cups.
He also smashed 28 sixes in this World Cup which is also the record for most maximums in a single edition, surpassing the previous best of Gayle's 26 sixes in 2015.