If Virat Kohli hadn't made his 35th birthday memorable already by scoring a 49th century in ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar sure made it special. With the entire world waiting with bated breath for Kohli to go level-pecking with the legendary Tendulkar, the moment finally arrived when a backfoot punch for a single gave Kohli his 4th World Cup ton – first against South Africa. But the icing on the cake came approximately 10 minutes later, when the genius himself sent out a special message for Kohli.
"Well played Virat. It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations," Tendulkar wrote on X.
After the match, Kohli, who after India's 2011 World Cup win, had delivered that iconic 'It's time we carried him on our shoulders' once again acknowledged Sachin's greatness, saying that he would never be as good as Tendulkar and that The Master Blaster for him is perfection. Later, as the night was about to conclude, Kohli, in a candid chat with the BCCI, opened up in detail on what it meant equalling the great man's record, and promises to try and fulfil Tendulkar's wish.
"Quite an emotional thing for me. I mean, I grew up idolising him, I started to play for India watching him play and just to equal his record in ODIs is a surreal moment for me. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'll get here, so I just feel blessed and grateful. As I said in the post match, for me, he is always going to be number one, regardless of whatever happens," said Kohli.
{{/usCountry}}"Quite an emotional thing for me. I mean, I grew up idolising him, I started to play for India watching him play and just to equal his record in ODIs is a surreal moment for me. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'll get here, so I just feel blessed and grateful. As I said in the post match, for me, he is always going to be number one, regardless of whatever happens," said Kohli.
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"I'm just happy that my journey has come so far that I've been able to make it till here and be able to win games for my country like he did. I aspire to do the same thing because if I do that, then it means that we have good chances of winning. So I would love to do it a few more times in this tournament. Especially the big ones – the semis and final. So yeah, fingers crossed. Hopefully I can do it."
India will play their final league game of the 2023 World Cup next Sunday – November 12 – against the Netherlands. A win there will guarantee that India head into the semifinal as the No. 1 team, all but confirming the No. 4 team as their opponents. Contrary to many beliefs, Kohli is expected to play that game, and continuing this form – which has seen him rack up 543 runs from eight innings – through the knockouts will be his 'return gift' to those who have showered him with love, adulation on his special day.
"I'm much happier to be in this position where I'm not receiving gifts, but rather I play well and make everyone else happy because it gets a little too much to be able to take wishes and gifts on my birthday. I've never quite been the guy who gets very excited for my birthday so I'm just happy to play this way. We've won and everyone got happy. A return gift from me on my birthday," added Kohli.