Kohli show to go on
It was inevitable.
More than it being a question of if, it was rather a debate over how and when.
And, the answers to those last two questions were befitting the awe-inspiring personality that is Virat Kohli as he ascended the highest pedestal in ODIs in the most cinematic way on Wednesday.
With his cricketing idol, Sachin Tendulkar, present and applauding from the stands of his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Kohli bowed down as he surpassed the India legend's 49 ODI hundreds.
The record 50th ODI ton from Kohli ensured the continuation of India's marauding run -- powering them to the highest-ever total recorded in a World Cup knockout game, resulting in a convincing win to see the 1983 and 2011 champions to their fourth World Cup final.
Even long before Wednesday's milestone -- which is one of many from the perennial record-breaker Kohli -- the right-handed batter had been crowned the best in the business in the modern era. And rightly so, as Kohli remains only one of the few in modern cricket who will be the first pick for any eleven -- regardless of formats.
His 117 on Wednesday was not the smoothest. In fact, his World Cup 2023 aggregate of 711 at a staggering 101.57 average -- the highest-ever by any batter in one edition of the showpiece event -- has seen more than a fair share of wobbles as Kohli was dropped a number of times throughout the tournament.
It is only logical that when you are that good, your every move is scrutinised to the tiniest detail. With not many to be compared to, you are measured against the standards that you have set.
But despite having millions of eyes set on you, many of which are intrigued to question the slightest of inaccuracies, it is the ability to shrug off those periods of shakiness to emerge as a hero, almost on every occasion, that acts as the true mark of a champion.
And none better than Kohli owns the trait of a champion. He celebrates every century as his first. The pump of the fist after completing the doubles or the enthusiastic cheer after every wicket that his team takes only demonstrates the hunger that the 35-year-old still has even after a decade of dominance on the 22 yards.
And for everything he does on the field, the aura that he exudes remains spellbinding. So much so that even his opposition turns into an admirer.
"I mean he's the best, isn't he? And he seems to be getting better, which is a worry for the opposition all around the world," said losing New Zealand captain Kane Williamson after the game.
The warning that Williamson gave will probably hold true. Perhaps the world is yet to see the best version of Kohli as his dedication on the field is only matched by his resolve and astuteness off it.
"Honestly, it is going to mean nothing in 15-20 years," he had said after equalling Don Bradman's record of 29 Test centuries in a game against the West Indies in July this year.
Maybe that's where Kohli is wrong because the astounding part of his 50th ODI ton remains the pace at which he had gotten there. As opposed to Tendulkar getting to his 49th ODI ton in his 451st innings, Kohli did one better and reached the milestone only in his 277th innings.
If his pace of breaking records and setting new ones is cumulated with his hunger and determination, the milestones Kohli probably is going to set will not only be remembered for the next 15-20 years but cherished, admired, and aspired to for centuries.