NEW DELHI: As Virat Kohli brought up his 49thODI century on Sunday evening, nostalgia engulfed his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma. For an hour after Kohli achieved this feat against South Africa in Kolkata to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record, Rajkumar and his family were struggling to decide how they should celebrate this day.
“The meeting with a nine-year-old Virat flashed in front of my eyes. The journey has been so amazing. For my ward to be at par with a legend like Sachin Tendulkar is a blessing for me,” Rajkumar told TOI on Sunday evening. “In a few days, I could make out that this boy had a gift from god. But the entire credit must go to him for realizing that he needed to work harder than most to honour that gift. It was so fulfilling to see his work ethic evolve through this journey,” a proud coach couldn’t stop gushing.
It was always apparent to him that Virat was an international cricket potential. But Rajkumar picked out the tour of Australia in 2011-12 and the subsequent Asia Cup in Bangladesh as the point where he realized his ward was meant to be in a different league. “Virat had already won a World Cup and scored 6-7 centuries. The hundred in the Adelaide Test after a rough start to the tour followed by the magical ton in an improbable chase against Sri Lanka in Hobart and then the 183 against Pakistan—that’s when I realized this boy will finish as one of the greatest Indian cricketers,” Rajkumar mentioned.
For all the success that he has had, Virat has never stopped coming back to his coach for honest dissection of his cricket. “He has mellowed down a lot with his age. We discuss his cricket but we also talk about life values now. But his aggression on the field is intact. I never tried to curb that. I knew he derived strength from it. All I had to take care of was that he didn’t become overconfident,” he claimed.
1/10:World Cup: Virat Kohli leads India stat attack against South Africa
PTI
2/10:Virat level with Sachin
<p>India's Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds as unbeaten World Cup hosts India thrashed fellow semi-finalists South Africa by 243 runs on Sunday. </p>AFP
3/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli's 101 not out was the centrepiece of India's 326/5 before they skittled out South Africa for 83, with Ravindra Jadeja taking 5/33 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. <br /></p>ANI
4/10:49 ODI tons
<p>Sachin Tendulkar took 452 innings to score 49 ODI hundreds while Virat Kohli reached the milestone in 277 innings. </p>PTI
5/10:Virat Kohli vs SA
<p>This was the fifth ODI century for Virat Kohli against South Africa - joint most by a player against them alongside Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Birthday ODI ton
<p>Virat Kohli is the seventh batsman in the world to score an ODI century on his birthday and third to have done it in World Cup games. </p>PTI
7/10:Marco Jansen
<p>Marco Jansen, 9.4-0-94-1, is the most expensive spell by a South Africa bowler in a World Cup game. </p>AP
8/10:Ravindra Jadeja
<p>Ravindra Jadeja's 5/33 is the second best spell for an Indian spinner in World Cups after Yuvraj Singh's 5/31 vs Ireland in Bengaluru 2011. </p>AP
9/10:SA's lowest WC total
<p>83 all out is South Africa's lowest total made at any World Cup and the 243-run loss is their biggest ODI defeat by runs. </p>Reuters
10/10:2nd-lowest ODI total
<p>83 all out is South Africa's second-lowest ODI total, behind their 69 against Australia at Sydney in 1993. </p>IANS2014 slump and the wait for 71st
For Rajkumar, Virat’s toughest challenge was recovering from the horrendous tour of England in 2014. The lull before his 71st international century is incomparable to what he went through in 2014. “2014 was a real challenge. He was young and James Anderson had exposed him. The months that he spent after that tour were very tough. That period involved a lot of learning—technical, mental and general awareness of his game. He wanted to turn it around quickly,” Rajkumar recalled.
“In comparison, the phase from 2020 to 2022 was nothing. It was all about not being able to convert his starts. He was batting well all through but he had set such high standards with his conversion rate that it seemed like he was going through serious loss of form. It was a bit irritating for him as well since he set such high standards for himself. Over the last one year, he is back to what he was doing till 2020.”
The World Cup hunger
Rajkumar maintains that Virat understood very little about the significance of the World Cup win in 2011. “He was barely 22 at that time. He is mature person. He understands that he is a statesman in this team and that he has this responsibility and guide the youngsters to help this team win the World Cup. Even before this World Cup started, he kept talking about how important it is for him to win this trophy. Probably, we will get to celebrate his records when the World Cup is done,” the coach stated.
1/10:Virat Kohli's four centuries at ODI World Cup
AP
2/10:History created
<p>Virat Kohli on Sunday created history with a record-equalling 49th ODI century against South Africa at the World Cup in Kolkata.<br /></p>ANI
3/10:Record-equalling ton
<p>With the ton, Kohli equalled legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring most centuries in the 50-over format.<br /></p>
4/10:Fourth World Cup ton
<p>The century was also Kohli's fourth at the 50-over World Cup and the second in the ongoing edition of the tournament.<br /></p>Getty Images
5/10:First ton at the World Cup
<p>Kohli's first ever century at the World Cup came against Bangladesh in Dhaka in the 2011 edition.<br /></p>AFP
6/10:Kohli blitz
<p>Kohli slammed an 83-ball 100 not out at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium where India beat Bangladesh by 87 runs.<br /></p>
7/10:The second ton
<p>Kohli's second World Cup ton came in the 2015 edition when he slammed 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide.<br /></p>Getty Images
8/10:A century against arch-rivals
<p>Kohli's century guided India to 300 for 7 after which Pakistan folded for 224 in the chase to suffer a 76-run loss.<br /></p>
9/10:Third century for Kohli at home
<p>Kohli notched up his third World Cup hundred in the clash against Bangladesh in Pune in the 2023 edition.<br /></p>Reuters
