Former Indian captain Virat Kohli smashed a record-breaking century to beat his idol, Sachin Tendulkar. During the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand, veteran batter Kohli hammered his 50th One Day International (ODI) century, breaking Sachin’s century record. Kohli’s record century, coupled with Mohammed Shami’s fast-bowling heroics, ensured India’s place in the ICC World Cup final.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who led India to the World Cup final in 2003, was at the Eden Gardens as Kohli annihilated the Kiwi bowlers. Speaking to reporters in Kolkata, Ganguly praised Kohli for becoming the first player in cricket history to hit 50 hundred in the 50-over format.

It will take a lot of beating to go past this and he’s not finished yet. It’s a phenomenal achievement, Ganguly admitted. Talking about India’s World Cup 2023 campaign, Ganguly asserted that the Men in Blue are playing incredible cricket under the leadership of skipper Rohit Sharma. India is playing incredible cricket at the moment. Be it Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, or the bowlers. It’s a complete side, there is tremendous talent in this team. But We need to take one step at a time, Ganguly added.

With his match-winning innings against the Black Caps, Kohli extended his lead at the top of the batting statistics. The 35-year-old batter broke Tendulkar’s triple World Cup records. Kohli has 711 runs in the 2023 World Cup, the most by any batter in a single edition of the ODI tournament. Kohli also has the most 50-plus scores in a single World Cup edition. India will battle with Australia in the finals at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19, Sunday.