Virat Kohli equalled the record of fellow India great Sachin Tendulkar after hitting his 49th one-day international century in a World Cup match against South Africa in Kolkata.

Tendulkar reached the milestone in 451 innings and 462 matches, while it has taken Kohli 277 innings and 289 ODIs.

Kohli’s superb knock helped India post 326-5 from their 50 overs.

He is also now the second-highest run-scorer at the tournament with 543 and may also have one eye on breaking Tendulkar’s record for most runs at a single World Cup, which stands at 673.

“Every opportunity to play for India is a big one and to do this on my birthday in front of a huge crowd is the stuff of dreams. It is something you dream about as a child,” said Kohli, whose innings included 10 fours. “I am just happy to help the team as much as possible.”

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Tendulkar said: “Well played Virat. It took me 365 days to go from 49 to 50 earlier this year. I hope you go from 49 to 50 and break my record in the next few days. Congratulations!”.

Eden Gardens became a sea of light as the crowd lit up their mobile phones in anticipation when Ravindra Jadeja nudged a single off Kagiso Rabada to bring Kohli on strike on 99 in the 49th over.

Kohli pushed the next ball to cover for a single to spark huge celebrations in the stands, with Kohli calmly raising his bat before taking off his helmet and looking to the sky.

Kohli made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2008, and played alongside Tendulkar in the early stages of his career, including a World Cup victory against the same opponents in 2011.

He averages 58.48 in ODI cricket – the best of any player to have played 50 matches or more.

Kohli also has an astonishing record when chasing targets in ODIs, averaging 65.24 in chases, while 27 of Kohli’s 49 hundreds have come while batting second.

Tendulkar still holds the record for the most ODI career runs, with 18,426, and has the most Test centuries, with 51. Kohli is joint 16th on the list of Test centuries, with 29.