One of the best sights in cricket is Virat Kohli scoring a ton, and crores of Indians witnessed that joyous occasion once again in the IND vs SA World Cup 2023 encounter on Sunday, at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. On a difficult batting pitch, that assisted spin bowling, Kohli played a masterclass of an innings to register his 49th ODI hundred, equaling great Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
What made Virat Kohli’s ton even more special was the fact that it came on his 35th birthday. Over 4.4 crore viewers simultaneously watched Kohli get to his ton in the IND vs SA clash, on the official live broadcaster Hotstar. Now, overall the 35-year-old has 79 tons to his name, in which 29 came in Tests, and one came in T20Is.
“Our users have consistently lifted us to new heights in cricket streaming during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Surpassing our own record with 4.4 Cr concurrent viewers tuning in for the India vs South Africa match, we are now eagerly looking forward to seeing where their unwavering support and fandom takes us as we head towards the tournament’s finale,” Sajith Sivanandan – Head, Disney+ Hotstar India said after reaching a new height.
Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar
While there can be no comparison between Kohli & Tendulkar, the staggering fact here is that the former achieved the same number of hundreds in only 277 innings, close to 150 less than the Little Master. Interestingly, the next on the list for most tons after these two legends is another Indian, Rohit Sharma at 31.
Virat Kohli in World Cup 2023
Meanwhile, this was Kohli’s second ton in the ongoing World Cup 2023, with his first coming against Bangladesh last month. He has four fifties to go with that as well and has now become the second-leading run-scorer in the tournament, behind Quinton de Kock. He now has 543 runs in all at an average of over 108.
~Tune in to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, streaming free on mobile on Disney+ Hotstar, and broadcast LIVE on Star Sports Network.