Sawt Falasteen - Virat Kohli, India's cricket icon with magic touch

Kohli, who equalled Tendulkar's feat of 49 tons on his 35th birthday on November 5, reached the milestone in his 279th innings in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

"Virat never played for records. They happened as he progressed," Kohli's biographer Vijay Lokapally told AFP.

"His batting skills and work ethic combined to create magic. Longevity leads to milestones and that is what Virat has inherited from stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar."

Kohli has invoked a similar emotional response from cricket-crazy Indian and global fans that was once enjoyed by Tendulkar.

His number 18 jersey has an overwhelming presence in all Indian grounds.

The number was selected because he made his ODI debut on August 18, 2008, and to honour his father, Prem, who passed away on December 18, 2006.

With more than 26,000 international runs and a total of 80 centuries across three formats, comparisons with Tendulkar are obvious but Lokapally disagrees.

"He dislikes this comparison. He has his identity. Sachin Tendulkar has his. Their styles differ," said Lokapally.

"Sachin has faced some ferocious bowlers. Virat has dominated too. Sachin is incomparable. If Virat is enjoying his cricket today it is because of the reputation Indian cricket acquired courtesy of Sachin Tendulkar."

On Wednesday, Kohli reached the milestone with a double off Lockie Ferguson.

He jumped for joy and sank to his knees with Tendulkar, his Bollywood wife Anushka Sharma, and football great David Beckham applauding from the stands at the Wankhede.

India skipper Rohit Sharma is a distant third on the list with 31 ODI hundreds.

After his record knock, Kohli said "The great man (Tendulkar) just congratulated me. It feels like a dream. Too good to be true."

- 'Icing on the cake' -

Tendulkar on "X", formerly Twitter, wrote, "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."

Known to wear his heart on his sleeve, Kohli has never shied away from a battle on the field and despite his regular brush with controversies the star remains one of the most popular cricketers.

Fans invading the pitch to touch his feet and take selfies remain regular occurences at Indian venues.

He is also fabulously wealthy, leading India's list of highest-paid athletes with earnings of $33.9 million mainly from brand endorsements, according to analysts Sportico's 2022 list.

Kohli went through an extended lean patch that spread across since 2021, failing to reach three figures in over 1,000 days.

He quit as T20 skipper in late 2021 and was soon sacked from the ODI captaincy.

Kohli gave up leading the Test side too and later talked about his mental struggles during his dry phase, including how he had been "snappy" around wife Anushka.

Kohli then hit his first hundred after a gap of 1,020 days in the 2022 T20 World Cup and has not looked back.

When he made his 49th century on his 35h birthday 10 days ago, Anushka wrote on Instagram: "He is literally exceptional in every role in his life".

C.Hamad--SF-PST