Kohli equals Tendulkar's record as India maul S Africa
India's Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 one-day international hundreds as unbeaten World Cup hosts India thrashed fellow semi-finalists South Africa by 243 runs in a pool match on Sunday. Kohli, on his 35th birthday, got to the landmark in 119 balls, including 10 fours, at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. It had taken him 277 innings to score 49 hundreds at this level compared to the 438 required by fellow India 2011 World Cup-winner Tendulkar. Kohli's 101 not out was the centrepiece of India's 326-5 before their powerful attack cleaned up as Rohit Sharma's men made it eight wins out of eight at the tournament. Together with Shreyas Iyer (77) he shared a third-wicket partnership of 134 after India captain Rohit had won the toss. India, fresh from dismissing Sri Lanka for just 55 – the lowest total by any Test side at a World Cup – during a 302-run rout of the 1996 champions, sparked another collapse as South Africa were dismissed for 83. It was the Proteas' second-lowest ODI total, behind their 69 against Australia at Sydney in 1993 and lowest at a World Cup. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja did the bulk of the damage with 5-33, with India now assured of finishing the pool phase in top spot, while South Africa lower-order batsman Marco Jansen's 14 was the innings' top score. This was South Africa's second pool defeat following a stunning loss to non-Test side Netherlands and the gap between the top two teams on Sunday was almost as much of a shock as that reverse. Kohli, now averaging more than 108 in the World Cup, said during the innings break: "Every opportunity to play for India is a big one, to be able to ton up on my birthday is the stuff of dreams. It is something you dream about as a child." (AFP)