Kohli praised for 'little nod' as Sachin's record falls

Virat Kohli has been praised for his humble celebration after passing Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most hundreds in one day internationals.

The Indian legend's 117 against New Zealand was the 50th of his ODI career, passing Tendulkar's 49 to sit on top of the record list.

After passing the century mark with two runs down to square leg, Kohli fell on his hands and knees, finding Tendulkar in the crowd and bowing down in praise.

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On commentary, former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull described it as a "polite celebration and a little nod to the master".

During India's final regular round match of the World Cup, Kohli looked as if he may pass the record against the Netherlands but fell on 51.

Kohli came to the crease against New Zealand at 1-71 after captain Rohit Sharma departed for 47.

The No.3 batsman hardly put a foot wrong during the 106 balls he faced for the milestone, which included a cramp concern while on 92.

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In typical Kohli fashion, the champion batsman waited for the finals stage to showcase his ability.

"Fifty arrives for Virat Kohli, and he stands alone on that summit, nobody else is there," commentator Harsha Bhogle said upon Kohli scoring his hundred.

"The feeling of achievement will be tinged with a little bit of humility in the fact that he's gone past someone that he would've absolutely adored. What a career this is."

After bowing down to Tendulkar, Kohli then blew a kiss to his wife, Indian actress Anushka Sharma.

Before speaking after his side's innings of 4-397, the centurion was captured embracing Tendulkar and football icon David Beckham.

Kohli explained he simply played his role in the semi-final. 

"It feels like a dream honestly, too good to be true, surreal, I never thought I'd be here ever in my career ... a big game today, I had to play the role that I've played in the tournament so the guys around me could express themselves," he said.

"I'm just glad that everything came around together so nicely and we put a great total on the board as well."

The 35-year-old went on to describe the situation as "perfect picture". 

"It's the stuff of dreams ... it's very difficult for me to explain this but if I could paint the perfect picture I would want this to be the picture," he said.

"My life partner, the person I love the most, she's (Sharma) sitting there, my hero (Tendulkar) he's sitting there, and I was able to get the 50th (hundred) in front of them and all these fans in Wankhede, such a historic venue, it was amazing."