Anushka Sharma wrote a sweet note for Virat Kohli after he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record in India’s World Cup game against New Zealand.
Virat Kohli‘s actress wife, Anushka Sharma, wrote a heartfelt note for him on social media following the former’s record-breaking hundred in India’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday. The Delhi-born cricket star’s ton against the Kiwis made him the first man in cricket history to score 50 ODI centuries, taking past his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who retired with 49 three-figure scores during his illustrious career.
Hours after Virat Kohli scripted at the Wankhede Stadium, Anushka Sharma took to Instagram to share her emotions about her husband’s monumental feat.
“God is the best script writer! Utterly grateful to him for blessing me with your love, and to watch you grow from strength to strength and achieve all that you have and will, being honest to yourself and to the sport always. You are truly god’s child,” she wrote on the photo and video-sharing app.
Before Anushka Sharma shared her post, an in-stadium romantic exchange between her and Virat Kohli had gone viral across various social media platforms.
Immediately after Virat Kohli brought up his record-breaking 50th hundred, Anushka Sharma stood up from her seat at the Wankhede Stadium and began blowing flying kisses in her husband’s direction.
Virat Kohli responded by blowing flying kisses back to her.
Anushka Sharma has been a constant in Virat Kohli’s cricketing journey for nearly a decade, especially since the two married in 2017.
Previously, Anushka Sharma attended Team India’s matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Virat Kohli completed his third hundred in the current edition of the World Cup against the Kiwis in the “City of Dreams” after his tons against Bangladesh and South Africa earlier in the prestigious tournament.
Virat Kohli is now the first and only cricketer to score 50 centuries in the 50-over format, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 49.
The ex-India captain, who has been in red-hot form in the World Cup, looked scratchy at the start of his knock after arriving at the crease following the fall of Rohit Sharma.
But Rohit Sharma should be credited for allowing Virat Kohli to build his innings as he gave India a lightning-quick start.
Rohit Sharma came out all guns blazing at the start of the Indian innings, racing to 47 off 28 balls with the help of four sixes and an equal number of boundaries.
Rohit Sharma’s blitzkrieg meant that the Men in Blue raced to 71/0 in just over eight overs before the India captain departed.
After Rohit Sharma perished, Virat Kohli joined Shubman Gill in the middle.
With Shubman Gill firing on all cylinders, the 35-year-old bided his time but kept the scoreboard ticking with singles, doubles, and occasional boundaries.
Slowly but steadily, Virat Kohli moved closer and closer to his 50th ODI hundred.
As things looked perfect, drama unfolded with Virat Kohli in his 90s. First, the New Zealand fielders missed a few opportunities to send him back to the pavilion, dropping half catches, and second, Virat Kohli suffered cramps.
Nonetheless, Virat Kohli got up and running and eventually brought up his ton in 106 balls.
After completing his 80th hundred in international cricket, Virat Kohli put his foot on the accelerator before getting dismissed for 117.
What’s remarkable about Virat Kohli is that he brought up his 50th three-figure score in the 50-over format in 279 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar needed 451 essays for his 49.
Furthermore, King Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s other record as he became the highest run-scorer in a single edition of the World Cup.
With his 117 against the Black Caps, he took his tally to 711 runs in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar made 673 in the 2003 edition in South Africa.
It was Virat Kohli’s eighth fifty-plus score in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, making him the first man to do so in a single edition of the quadrennial event.
Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan had seven such scores in 2003 and 2019, respectively.
An over-the-moon Virat Kohli described the moment as the stuff of dreams before adding that he couldn’t have chosen a better day to score his 50th ODI century.
“It’s stuff of dreams, Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin paaji was there in the stands. I mean, it’s very difficult for me to explain this, but if I could paint the perfect picture, I would want this to be the picture. My life partner, the person I love the most, she’s sitting there. My hero, he’s sitting there. And I was able to get the 50th in front of all of them and all these fans at Wankhede as well, such a historic venue. It was amazing,” Virat Kohli said during the innings break.
“I said it in Kolkata, the great man (Sachin Tendulkar) just congratulated me, all this feels like a dream for me, honestly. It’s too good to be true, feels surreal, I never thought I’ll be here ever in my career. Just to help the team so many times, again, a big game today, I had to kind of play the role I’ve played throughout the tournament so that the guys around me can go and express themselves. Just glad that everything came together so nicely and we put up a great total on the board as well,” Virat Kohli mentioned.
“As I’ve said a lot of times before, the most important thing is to make my team win, and whatever it takes to do that, I’m ready to do that, whether it’s running singles and doubles, hitting boundaries, whatever the team wants me to do. I’ve been given a role this tournament, and I’m trying to play that to the best of my ability, trying to dig deep, bat long, so that the others can play around me and have that confidence that I’m going into the later overs where I can dominate with the bat as well. That’s the only key to consistency I guess, just playing according to the situation, playing for your team at all times,” the run-machine explained.
On the other hand, in his first written reaction following Virat Kohli’s history-scripting accomplishment, Sachin Tendulkar underlined that the Delhi-born cricketer had touched his heart when he joined the Indian dressing room as a teenager.
“The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn’t stop laughing that day. But soon, you touched my heart with your passion and skill. I am so happy that that young boy has grown into a ‘Virat’ player. I couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record. And to do it on the biggest stage – in the World Cup Semi-final – and at my home ground is the icing on the cake,” Sachin Tendulkar wrote on the microblogging platform.
