A fan's 11-year-old prediction about Virat Kohli breaking Sachin Tendulkar's world record for the most ODI centuries came true earlier this week, with his old social media post going viral on Twitter, now renamed X.
The Virat Kohli supporter, named Shiju Balanandan, made the prophecy in 2012, sharing a Facebook message that the Delhi-born cricketer will go past Sachin Tendulkar.
Sports journalist Joy Bhattacharjya shared Shiju Balanandan's heart-wrenching story on Twitter, wherein he stated that Virat Kohli would score 50 ODI centuries.
Sadly, Shiju Balanandan passed away in 2018 after updating the post with Virat Kohli's 35th ton against South Africa.
Subsequently, his friends continued to update his post, and ultimately, Shiju Balanandan's prophecy came true.
Like Shiju Balanandan, former India coach Ravi Shastri made a bold claim about the talismanic Virat Kohli, stating that he would break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 100 centuries in international cricket.
“Who would have thought when Sachin Tendulkar got 100 hundreds that anyone would come close? And, he's got 80; 80 international hundreds, 50 of them in the one-day game, which makes him the highest. Unreal,” the ex-India coach said on The ICC Review.
“Nothing's impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. His next 10 innings, you might see another five hundreds. You have three formats of the game, and he's part of all those formats. To think that he still has three or four years of cricket ahead of him is simply mind-boggling,” Ravi Shastri noted.
“I think his composure, his body language, his calmness at the crease (in this WC). I have seen him come out in previous World Cups where he's like a cat on a hot tin roof. He wanted to get on with it straight away. None of that sort here. He's taken his time, marked his guard, soaked the pressure, given himself time, and understood his role of batting deep in the innings. He's just been wonderful,” he explained.
Ravi Shastri's comments came hours after Virat Kohli became the first cricketer to score 50 centuries in the 50-over format, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 49.
He completed his third hundred in the current edition of the World Cup against the Kiwis in the “City of Dreams” after his tons against Bangladesh and South Africa earlier in the prestigious tournament.
The ex-India captain, who has been in red-hot form in the World Cup, looked scratchy at the start of his knock after arriving at the crease following the fall of Rohit Sharma.
But Rohit Sharma should be credited for allowing Virat Kohli to build his innings as he gave India a lightning-quick start.
Rohit Sharma came out all guns blazing at the start of the Indian innings, racing to 47 off 28 balls with the help of four sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
Rohit Sharma's blitzkrieg meant that the Men in Blue raced to 71/0 in just over eight overs before the India captain departed.
After Rohit Sharma perished, Virat Kohli joined Shubman Gill in the middle.
With Shubman Gill firing on all cylinders, the 35-year-old bided his time but kept the scoreboard ticking with singles, doubles, and occasional boundaries.
Slowly but steadily, Virat Kohli moved closer and closer to his 50th ODI hundred.
As things looked perfect, drama unfolded with Virat Kohli in his 90s. First, the New Zealand fielders missed a few opportunities to send him back to the pavilion, dropping half catches, and second, Virat Kohli suffered cramps.
Nonetheless, Virat Kohli got up and running and eventually brought up his ton in 106 balls.
After completing his 80th hundred in international cricket, Virat Kohli put his foot on the accelerator before getting dismissed for 117.
What's remarkable about Virat Kohli is that he brought up his 50th three-figure score in the 50-over format in 279 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar needed 451 essays for his 49.
Furthermore, King Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's other record as he became the highest run-scorer in a single edition of the World Cup.
With his 117 against the Black Caps, he took his tally to 711 runs in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar made 673 in the 2003 edition in South Africa.
It was Virat Kohli's eighth fifty-plus score in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, making him the first man to do so in a single edition of the quadrennial event.
Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan had seven such scores in 2003 and 2019, respectively.
Meanwhile, 2011 World Cup winner Zaheer Khan called Virat Kohli's 50th ODI hundred a “big achievement.”
“Big achievement. Lots of years and years of hard work, determination, sacrifices. You name it, you know, you play the game for this. Virat has been doing a phenomenal job of it, making a habit of getting hundreds. Sachin was there in the stands, so it was emotional moment for both of them, and both of them acknowledging each other is something which you want to see and the Indian holding the record strongly. So you have two guys there right now to give each other company,” Zaheer Khan underlined.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson described Virat Kohli as the “ultimate competitor.”
“A phenomenal player and just the ultimate competitor, he goes out there, he loves the occasion and he's been outstanding for us throughout this whole tournament. And to go out and do what he did today, giving us a chance, albeit a slim chance, but you will take anything when you're chasing 400, was a fine effort from a world-class player,” Kane Williamson stated.
“If you play 50 games, some people would call that a great career, but to get 50 hundreds. There's a lot of attention and that comes with a lot of his success, but actually it was always about pushing his team forward. So he's the best isn't he? And he seems to be getting better, which is a worry for opposition all around the world. It's incredible really,” the New Zealand skipper added.
Rohit Sharma and his men will clash against five-time champions Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat state on November 19.
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