'Nothing short of fantastic': Greg Chappell weighs in on Virat Kohli surpassing Tendulkar's record

Former Team India head coach and Australian cricketing great Greg Chappell has described Virat Kohli's 50th ODI century as "nothing short of fantastic." Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI hundreds with a 113-ball 117 against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup on Wednesday at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

3 things you need to know

• India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the semi-final 1 to secure a place in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023
• Australia got the better of South Africa by 3 wickets to march into the final
• India vs Australia will take place on November 19, 2023

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Greg Chappell on Virat Kohli attaining the historic mark

Tendulkar scored 49 in his career of 452 ODI innings (1989-2012), while Kohli did one better in just 279 innings (2008-2023).

"The feat of Virat Kohli to become the first man to score 50 centuries in ODI cricket is nothing short of fantastic," he told Cricbuzz. “The fact that he surpassed The Little Master to achieve the feat puts the magnitude of the performance into perspective.”

India scored 397 runs batting first, thanks to Kohli's century, Shreyas Iyer's explosive 105 (70), and key contributions from Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Following Mohammed Shami's record-breaking 7/57, India bowled New Zealand out for 327 to secure a 70-run victory.

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Chappell believes beating India would be a monumental task

Australia defeated South Africa by three wickets in the second semi-final to go to their eighth ODI World Cup final. The Australians have won five of their previous seven games, but Chappell believes this one will be difficult.

"It will be up to this highly cohesive Australian team to find something really extra-special from within themselves, if they are to make it their sixth win in eight World Cup finals -- a phenomenal record. India has played brilliantly and does not have a chink in their armour," he said.

India has won all of their tournament matches, while Australia are on an eight-game winning streak after losing their first two.

On Sunday, the championship game will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.