Star India batter Virat Kohli on Sunday hit his 49th ODI century on his 35th birthday to equal the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of hundreds in the 50-over cricket, during his team’s World Cup 2023 match against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Wishes poured from all around the globe to congratulate Kohli, who now has scored 79 international centuries — one in T20Is and 29 in Tests. The same response was expected from the Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis when informed about Kohli’s record but he made a bizarre statement.
On the eve of Sri Lanka’s match against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Mendis was informed about Kohli’s historic achievement and asked whether he would want to congratulate the former India skipper.
The Sri Lankan skipper looked a bit confused and laughed before giving his response which instantly went viral all over social media.
This is how the conversation went:
Reporter: Virat Kohli has just scored his 49th ODI ton. Would you like to congratulate him?
Kusal Mendis: Why would I want to congratulate him?
The whole conversation has left people divided on social media. While some feel Mendis should have congratulated Kohli, many feel it was not a relevant question.
“He’s just jealous, could have congratulated the greatest batsman of all time”, wrote one user on social media.
“Poor Boy didn’t get over the hangover from the back to back destruction given by India,” wrote another.
“Irrelevant question by the journalist”, expressed a cricket fan.
“The reporter who asked this question should be sacked. Ask the SL captain about HIS team, next game, strategy. Not questions about an Indian player. VK doesn’t need this sort of disservice,” wrote another person on X.
Riding on Kohli’s unbeaten 101 and Ravindra Jadeja’s sensational fifer (5 for 33), India registered a dominating 243-run win over South Africa on Sunday to keep their unbeaten run intact at the ongoing World Cup.
With the whopping win, their eighth on the trot, India ensured their top spot at the points table while South Africa, who have also made the semi-finals, will hope to take learnings away from the game ahead of the knockout phase.