In Sunday’s ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium, star batsman Virat Kohli reached yet another milestone, proving that he and his desire to break records are a match made in heaven.
Before being dismissed in the 29th over by Australia’s captain Pat Cummins, Kohli amassed 54 runs. In his eleventh innings of the competition, it was his ninth score of fifty or more. At Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, during the semifinal matchup with New Zealand, Kohli broke his own record. With 756 runs at the end of the competition, he had scored three hundreds and six fifties. In the World Cup’s only edition, he has scored the most runs.
The record set by his hero and renowned batter Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup, was shattered by Kohli.
He has eclipsed the records held by Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan for the most fifty-plus runs in one ODI World Cup.
Kohli also surpassed Ricky Ponting (1743) in the history of the ODI World Cup for the most runs. With 1,795 runs, the Indian hitter is now only one run behind Sachin Tendulkar (2278).
With his 47-run innings, India captain Rohit Sharma also moved up the list, surpassing Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (1532). With 1575 runs, Rohit ranks fourth in the history of the quadrennial tournament’s scorers.
In the summit match, Australia had earlier won the toss and chosen to bowl first against India. For the game, neither team changes.
Australia overcame South Africa by three wickets to set up the final match, while India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the semifinal.