Virat Kohli masterclass on his birthday hands India massive World Cup win over Proteas

Virat Kohli made his 35th birthday a memorable one as his unbeaten century helped India complete another thumping win at the World Cup, this time against in-form South Africa in Kolkata by a huge margin of 243 runs on Sunday.

The match was seen as a clash between two of the best teams in the tournament but India dominated the match from start to finish, first posting an above par 326-5 on a slow Eden Gardens pitch, thanks to a masterful 101 not out from Kohli.

India's bowlers, led by spinner Ravindra Jadeja (5-33), then turned on the afterburners to dismiss the mighty South African batting line-up for just 83 in 27.1 overs to complete a sensational win.

However, the day belonged to Kohli, who equaled the great Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries.

"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.

"I am just happy to help the team as much as possible."

Kohli said the wicket was extremely challenging once the ball got older as bowlers got grip and timing became difficult. The star batsman said his job was to bat until the end and allow others to score around him.

"It was a wicket that was tricky to bat on. We got a great start. My job was to keep the momentum going when I got in. But after 10 overs, the ball started gripping and the wicket started slowing down. My role was to bat deep and till the end after the openers fell," he explained.

"Well played Virat," Tendulkar posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"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," Tendulkar added, having celebrated