Kohli’s knock, which came off 113 balls, gave him the record for the highest number of centuries in the 50-overs format of the game, taking him past Tendulkar, the Indian batting great who was in the stands to applaud the feat.
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic also sent a congratulatory message to Kohli.
“Congratulations Virat. Legendary,” wrote Djokovic on X, formerly Twitter.
The premier Indian batter took three innings to first equal and then surpass his idol Tendulkar’s ODI century No 49 and also became the first batter to score 700 runs in a single World Cup edition.
“Yes. It’s very difficult to put it in words, to what it means, not just to him and his family, but to all those who love Indian cricket,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“Because, look, you always have people who have set the bar and the standard. Then you want somebody to come and raise the bar a little further, and that’s exactly what Virat Kohli has done with his performances.
“He has been absolutely super human in this particular World Cup. He has got almost 700 runs, 2 hundreds in this tournament, plus fifties in about six other innings,” the Indian batting legend added.
“All those who are here should consider themselves fortunate that they were there. They will remember November 15th as the day where they were at the Wankhede Stadium and they saw Virat Kohli score a 50th century in one-day cricket. Nobody has done that before. 49 was the highest and he’s got the 50th.”
Kohli notched up the 50th hundred off 105 balls, with a flick for two off Lockie Ferguson in the 42nd over of India’s innings against New Zealand in the first World Cup semi-final .
India posted a herculean 397/4 before bundling out New Zealand for 327 in 48.5 overs with Mohammed Shami returning with magnificent figures of 7/57.
(With PTI inputs)
