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The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic hailed Virat Kohli's 'legendary' knock against New Zealand in the semifinal clash of the ongoing ICC World Cup on Wednesday.
Kohli's incredible 50th ODI century elicited emotions from all over the world. At the ICC Cricket World Cup, Kohli broke the record for most ODI centuries with his 50th, surpassing 'Masterblaster' Sachin Tendulkar's 49 hundreds. He attained this milestone in the 42nd over off Lockie Ferguson's bowling, smashing eight fours and one six on his route to three figures. This was his first-ever century in the knockout stage of the Cricket World Cup, and he also broke Tendulkar's record for most runs in a single edition of the World Cup. With a picture on Instagram story, legendary Tennis player Djokovic congratulated Kohli for making history and playing another match-defining knock in a high-pressure game. Kohli's 117 helped India post a total of 397/4, the greatest first-innings total in a men's World Cup semi-final, and also saw the player become the highest run-scorer in a single ICC CWC. The star batter's century followed a spectacular opening stand between Rohit Sharma (47 from 29) and Shubman Gill (80* from 66), the latter of whom retired hurt before returning late in the innings. And, while Kohli anchored the batting at one end, Shreyas Iyer smashed a spectacular century of his own, reaching 105 off just 70 balls. In terms of Djokovic, he finished 2023 as the ATP's top-ranked player. Djokovic is currently taking part in the ATP World Tour Finals where he suffered a 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) defeat to Jannik Sinner on Tuesday. He is set to return to Grand Slam competition when the Australian Open take place at the Rod Laver Arena next year. (ANI)
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