Very few cricketers have been as intensely scrutinised as Virat Kohli but even for a boss personality like him, it is tough to seclude himself from all that attention. Kohli’s century against South Africa was his second of the tournament and fourth in all 50-over World Cups, and it further adds to his case as one of the best players of all time.

Virat Kohli, who got out for 95 and 88 against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, did not disappoint the ecastic Eden full house giving a perfect icing on the cake to score the historic century on a difficult Eden track.

The monkey was finally off his back in the 49th over when Kohli gently pushed Kagiso Rabada for a single and followed it up with his usual quiet celebration nowadays.

It came off 119 balls with 10 fours, that summed up how Kohli toiled hard for the milestone.

For Kolhi, who remained unbeaten on 101 facing 121 deliveries, it came in 277 innings, while Tendulkar brought up his 49th ODI century in 452 innings.

Virat Kohli is the “absolute best” batter in the world on the basis of his overall record and he did not need to equal legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record number of ODI hundreds to earn that tag, feels former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries with a brilliant 101 not out against South Africa on his 35th birthday in a World Cup match on Sunday. The century only further strengthened Kohli’s case of being one of the greatest players of modern times.

“There is no doubt he is the absolute best and I have said that for a long time,” Ponting said on the ICC website.

*With Agency Inputs

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Updated: 06 Nov 2023, 03:10 PM IST