Kolkata: Birthday boy Virat Kohli hit a record-equalling 49th ODI century and shared a 134-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer as India enthralled the Eden crowd, piling up 326 for five against South Africa in their ICC Men’s World Cup match here Sunday.
Kohli, who turned 35 on Sunday, gave himself a timely gift with an unbeaten knock of 101 off 121 deliveries, which put him at par with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who too has 49 ODI tons.
Iyer hit an 87-ball 77, as the duo smashed the Proteas bowlers all around the ground.
Later, Ravindra Jadeja played a cameo unbeaten 29-run innings off 15 balls to guide India to a big total.
Openers Rohit Sharma (40 off 24 balls) and Shubman Gill (23) gave India a good start with a 62-run stand after the hosts won the toss and elected to bat.
The flurry of shots from Rohit’s bat saw India complete 50 runs in just 4.3 overs as the skipper smashed two sixes and six boundaries during his entertaining innings.
Brief Scores:
India 326 for 5 (Rohit Sharma 40, Shubman Gill 23, Shreyas Iyer 77, Virat Kohli 101 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 29 not out).
PTI