Indian middle-order batter Virat Kohli scored his 49th ODI hundred during the 37th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday but his knock isn't appreciated by some fans.
Kohli came to bat after India were 62-1 in 5.5 overs courtesy of a blistering start provided by the skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored 40 off 26 with eight boundaries with a staggering 166.67 strike rate.
Kohli, with his 49th ODI ton, equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record but his knock was labelled "selfish" by a portion of Indian fans saying that India could've scored 350 runs if it wasn't for the 35-year-old's dot balls.
India were able to score 326 runs in 50 overs as Ravindra Jadeja scored 22 off 14 in the last few overs.
This is how Indian fans on X, formerly Twitter, criticised Kohli's innings
But there is another portion of the Indian fanbase that is active on X defending Kohli's knock as they believe that the wicket was difficult to bat and the 35-year-old batter batted according to what the team asked him of.
Meanwhile, talking to the presenter after the first innings, Kohli said that the pitch got difficult in the middle overs and he was asked to bat till the end.
"The wicket was tricky to bat on. Ball started gripping, the pitch was slow. The communication from the team was to bat till the last ball," Kohli said.
Kohli now has 119 scores of 50 or more in ODI cricket, crossing Kumar Sangakkara (118). Tendulkar tops the list with 145.
The middle-order batter also crossed 6000 ODI runs at home during the match against South Africa. He currently stands second on the list, behind Tendulkar again.
By the time this story was filed, South Africa were chasing the 327-run target and were batting at 27-1 in seven overs with Temba Bavuma (11*) and Rassie van der Dussen (4*) still on the crease.
- Virat Kohli