Legendary India captain MS Dhoni's supporters labeled Virat Kohli “selfish” after the latter scored a record-breaking hundred against South Africa in a 2023 Cricket World Cup game in Kolkata on Sunday.
With Virat Kohli remaining unbeaten on 101 off 121 balls, MS Dhoni admirers pointed out that the Delhi-born cricketer's knock was slow before calling him out for his “selfishness” as they believed he was batting for personal milestones and not for the team's victories.
Virat Kohli's trolling by MS Dhoni's fans came amid his haters slamming him on his 35th birthday, with “Happy Birthday Chokli” becoming one of the top trends on Twitter.
Selfish chokli gifted selfish knock to his fans pic.twitter.com/TvCeKuCFPm
— Sia⋆ (@siappaa_) November 5, 2023
Presenting the most slow and Selfish century of World Cup history ever in cricket history.
Chokli the slowest poison . pic.twitter.com/HU08sC9Kjv
— ᴍʀ.ᴠɪʟʟᴀ ™ (@LuccyDevil) November 5, 2023
Cricket finished today….
Ravindra Jadeja made 29 runs of 15 balls and took 5 wickets.
But they gave MoM award to selfish MDC Chokli because he funded them.
Cricket has been changed today.
Now they decide MoM on the basis of PR, Money and fans.
Shame on ICC, BCCI and broadcaster— Rishabh Pant Stan (@Siddharth_ICT) November 5, 2023
40 to 50 Overs
IND- 239 to 326Inda scored 87 runs in the last 60 balls
Virat Kohli – 26(26) | Others – 61 (34)26 (26) 🤡 – This is the worst innings played by a batsman in the last 10 overs in the history of cricket.
Chokli -The most selfish coward player ever. #INDvsSA
— Jyran (@Jyran45) November 5, 2023
During the weekend, Virat Kohli equaled Sachin Tendulkar's world record of 49 ODI centuries in India's 2023 Cricket World Cup fixture against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens.
The iconic Eden Gardens, packed to the raptures, was treated to a Virat Kohli masterclass as the premier India batter again anchored the home team's innings with an unbeaten 101 off 121 balls, powering them to 326/5 in their allocated 50 overs.
Before Virat Kohli landed in the city of joy, he was one behind his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who ended his illustrious career with 49 tons.
However, the 35-year-old looked determined to score a hundred in West Bengal after arriving at the crease after the fall of captain Rohit Sharma's wicket.
Rohit Sharma gave India a flying start, but once he perished, the pitch started playing tricks, with the spinners getting a lot of purchase out of it.
The Delhi-born cricketer bided his time, focusing on taking singles and doubles to keep the scorecard moving.
Eventually, Virat Kohli accelerated at the fag-end of the Indian essay, completing a memorable hundred on his 35th birthday.
With his heroics at the Eden Gardens, Virat Kohli joined Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli in a select list of Indian players who have made centuries on their birthdays in ODIs.
Notably, Sachin Tendulkar produced one of the best knocks of his career against Australia in Sharjah, known as the desert storm, on his birthday in 1998.
Overall, King Kohli is only the seventh cricketer to hit a hundred on his birthday across formats in international cricket.
Besides Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and Vinod Kambli, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mitchell Marsh, Ross Taylor, and Tom Latham have scored centuries on their respective birthdays.
With his unbeaten 101 off 121 balls, Virat Kohli took his tally of tons in international cricket to 79. He has 29 centuries in Tests and one in T20Is.
It was his second hundred in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, having previously reached the three-figure mark against Bangladesh.
Ultimately, the Men in Blue registered a dominant 243-run win over the Proteas, with the world-class Indian bowling line-up producing another spectacular show to bowl out their opponents for a paltry score of 83.
Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the Indian bowlers, having finished the match with figures of 5/33, while Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav grabbed two each.
Virat Kohli's stats in ODIs are just phenomenal. To better understand how good he has been in the 50-over format, he reached his 49th ton in 277 essays, while Sachin Tendulkar needed 451 to get there.
Despite numbers and pundits suggesting he's the greatest player to bat in ODIs, Virat Kohli rubbished the talks surrounding his accomplishments.
Instead, he hailed Sachin Tendulkar for being the guiding force behind his constant effort to improve on the cricket field.
“I had this sense of ‘it's going to be something more,' today rather than ‘it's just one more game in the World Cup.' I did wake up with that excitement, yes,” Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony after being adjudged the Player of the Match.
“It was a big game. We were probably playing the toughest team in the tournament that we had played so far, to be honest. They played some amazing cricket. There was this motivation of wanting to do well for the team. Because it happened on my birthday, people made it a bit more special for me. I had this sense of ‘it's going to be something more today' rather than ‘it's just one more game in the World Cup'. I did wake up with that excitement, yes,” he elaborated.
“For me, it's all too much to take in right now, to be honest, to equal my hero's record in one-day internationals is something that's a huge honor for me. I know that people like comparisons, I am never going to be as good as him. There's a reason why we all looked up to him. He's perfection when it comes to batting. I am trying to do my best, trying to win games for my country. He's always going to be my hero regardless of what happens. It's a very emotional moment for me. I know where I come from, the days that I watched him play on TV. So to stand here and get this appreciation from someone like him means a lot to me,” an emotional Virat Kohli continued.
“People from the outside probably look at the game in a different way,” he said. “When the openers start in that fashion when the ball is new, you feel like wow, this is a belter and everyone has to keep going that way. But the conditions changed with the old ball, the pitch slows down. Message from the management was simple: I bat deep, the guys around me they bat with me, string in partnerships, express themselves and keep doing the job that the team wants me to do. That's my role, has always been my role. I was just happy from that perspective because on pitches like these, if you get out, you can always look back and say 295, maybe we could have got 320-325. Once you are above 315, we knew it's above par and we are in a comfortable situation.”
“I would say I am enjoying myself, playing cricket all over again which is more important now than thinking about phases and such,” he said. I think in a phase where things were not working, you are not enjoying yourself. That's what I take out of it. You are still able to score runs because of your experience. But being out there, even for those 50-60 runs is not as enjoyable as it is right now. I am just happy with God's blessed me with that enjoyment again and I can do the things that I have done for so many years all over again,” he summed up.
After Virat Kohli matched his century numbers in the 50-over format, Sachin Tendulkar shared a special message for him on Twitter, which immediately went viral on the microblogging platform.
“Well played Virat! It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations,” Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X.
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