Last Update on: November 17th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
With India’s batting maestro and icon Virat Kohli rewriting history again at the grandest stage of the sport on Wednesday, ex-India head coach and 1983 World Cup winner with India, Ravi Shastri has backed Virat to demolish another world record of his idol – Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli’s batting masterclass at Wankhede against New Zealand played a pivotal role in securing a place in the finals for the Men In Blue. The ‘King’ as he is fondly called by his fans, showed everyone why he deserves that title.
Ravi Shastri, who is an integral part of the esteemed commentary panel for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, has backed Virat to shatter Sachin’s 100th-century record in international cricket. After leveling with the ‘GOD’ in terms of ODI centuries on his 35th birthday at Eden Gardens against South Africa, the ‘KING’ reigned supreme with another century taking his ODI hundreds tally to 50 against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2023.
After Virat Kohli’s picture-perfect innings to surpass his idol’s record at the Wankhede, former India head coach Ravi Shastri is convinced that the 35-year-old batting maestro is ready to claim Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries in his long 24-year career. The Master Blaster is the only batter to have 100 international centuries to his name. “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,” Shastri said on The ICC Review.
“Nothing’s impossible because such players, when they start reeling off hundreds, then they score them pretty quickly. In 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,” Shastri added.
Virat Kohli Has Taken The Role Of An Anchor In This World Cup
Ravi Shastri praised Virat’s composure and body language in this World Cup. Unlike his former self, Virat has taken his time in this World Cup and has understood his role as an anchor. He has built his innings following the start provided by Rohit Sharma and has allowed the batter at the other end to take charge and express themselves which has led the Indian team to win 10 consecutive matches in this World Cup.
“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,” Shastri added.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer both powered India to a massive total of 397 with their respective centuries. Shreyas scored a brilliant 105 off 70 balls while Virat was patient enough to power himself to a memorable 117 off 113 balls. Veteran seamer Mohammed Shami decimated New Zealand’s batting line-up with his seven-wicket haul. India won the match and booked their berth in the finals where they will now face five-time World Champions Australia.
Rohit Sharma‘s Team India will meet Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final on Sunday. The Men In Blue have recently lost an ICC final against the Aussies when the two clashed at the ICC World Test Championship Finals. India will be looking to avenge the loss and get their hands on the World Cup title. If Australia wins, it will be their sixth ODI World Cup title whereas if India wins, it will be their third ODI World Cup title.
