One of world cricket's long-awaited suspense ended on Sunday evening with the most certain answer. Virat Kohli, on his 35th birthday, equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of most ODI centuries en route to his unbeaten 101 in India's emphatic 243-run win at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against South Africa. Wishes poured from all around the globe to congratulate the modern-era great on his marvellous achievement in World Cup 2023. It was hence expected the same from Kusal Mendis when informed about Kohli's record, but the Sri Lanka skipper responded in outlandish fashion.
Sri Lanka are slated to play against Bangladesh on Monday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi with a slim hope of making the semifinal still alive. Ahead of the match, in the pre-game presser on Sunday, Mendis was informed about Kohli's historic feat in Kolkata with the reporter asking whether he would want to congratulate him. But want followed was an unexpected response which instantly went viral all over social media.
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Here is how the conversation went:
Reporter: Virat Kohli has just scored his 49th ODI ton. Would you like to congratulate him?
{{/usCountry}}Reporter: Virat Kohli has just scored his 49th ODI ton. Would you like to congratulate him?
{{/usCountry}}Kusal Mendis: Why would I want to congratulate him?
After Rohit Sharma's yet another rampaging start on a rather tricky Kolkata track with a 24-ball 40, South Africa bounced back with two wickets in a space of 28 balls as India lost both their openers. Kohli then combined with Shreyas Iyer in a 134-run stand for the third wicket where the former India captain got to his 49th ODI century and second in this World Cup while Iyer smashed 77 off 87 in his second fifty in the tournament as the hists set a target 327 runs.
In response, Ravindra Jadeja ran riot through the middle order, after Mohammed Siraj opened the floodgates in the second over, picking up a five-wicket haul as India folded South Africa for just 83 runs in 27.1 overs.
The win helped India maintain their unbeaten record in the league stage, making it eight out eight with still a match left in hand before they head to the semifinals. India will play their next game against Netherlands on November 12 in Bengaluru.