This, perhaps, was written in the stars.

Entering the Eden Gardens after a run of seven successive wins by his team, Kohli was up against an in-form and ambitious South African side seeking to shed the choker’s tag and win its maiden World Cup title.

But, by the time the game got over, South Africa were left bruised and battered after being bowled out for 83 in 27.1 overs as India consolidated its top place in the pecking order, with Kohli finally matching Tendulkar after the whole country waited for weeks in anticipation.

Attempting to steel the thunder from Kohli was Ravindra Jadeja, who ended with excellent figures of 5/33.

Set an imposing target of 327 after Kohli’s 121-ball 101 not out, Shreyas Iyer’s fluent 87-ball 77 and some fireworks towards the end by Suryakumar Yadav and Jadeja, the Proteas crumbled like a pack of cards.

India captain Rohit Sharma also deserves special mention for his 24-ball 40, putting South Africa on the back foot straightaway with his attacking intent.

When the Proteas’ turn to bat came, the pitch remained pretty much the same but the Indian bowling was again at a different level altogether, running through the side with the same relentlessness and potency they have been doing through the tournament.

South Africa were in dire straits in no time, tottering at 40/5 and then 67/7 as India had the match all wrapped up.

The menacing pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami was once again on the money before star all-rounder Jadeja did the star turn with his turn, bounce and accuracy.

Not content with his cameo with the bat (29 off 15 balls), Jadeja got the ball to behave in whichever way he wanted it to and finished with fine figures.

The first to go was the in-from Quinton de Kock, who got an inside edge against Siraj after smashing him for a boundary.

Losing De Kock was a big blow for the South Africans, and skipper Temba Bavuma too fell cheaply to continue his quest for one substantial knock in the showpiece, bowled by a beautiful turning delivery from Jadeja.

South Africa were three down inside the powerplay as Shami, with a good length ball that jagged away off the seam, induced an edge from Aiden Markram and KL Rahul completed a low catch.

Rassie van der Dussen thought he was saved when Shami’s loud appeal for an lbw failed to impress the on-field umpire but the Indian seamer and his wicket-keeping colleague Rahul’s decision to review was vindicated when the technology showed that the ball would go on to hit the middle and leg stump.

South Africa bat deep but Jadeja, meanwhile, snared Heinrich Klaasen (1) and David Miller (11) to inch closer to a massive win, which was achieved when Kuldeep Yadav bowled Lungi Ngidi.

The match was over in South Africa’s 28th over and with a lot of time still left to play.

Earlier, the setting was ideal for Kohli to equal Tendulkar’s record after missing the magic three-figure mark more than once in the tournament.

He was dismissed for 95 and 88 against New Zealand and Sri Lanka but the Indian run-machine did not disappoint the ecstatic full house at the Eden Gardens.

The monkey was finally off his back in the 49th over when Kohli gently pushed Kagiso Rabada for a single. The century came off 119 balls with 10 fours, showing that Kohli toiled hard for his runs.

For Kohli, the milestone ton came in 277 innings, while Tendulkar had brought up his 49th ODI century in 452 innings. A comparison, though, is not fair considering the different playing conditions in the two eras.

The relief was evident as he took his helmet off, kissed his bat, and saluted the crowd that gave him a standing ovation.

Rohit went about his business in his own inimitable style while Shubhman Gill (23 off 24) was cautious as the two provided a flying start to the hosts after electing to bat.

Iyer played the perfect foil for Kohli before Jadeja played a crucial role in taking India past the 300-run mark.

Barring Keshav Maharaj who bowled his full quota at a stretch, no other bowler could create an impact on an Eden wicket that became slower as the game progressed and aided spin.

At a venue where he scored the ODI world record score of 264, Rohit smashed bowlers all around the park before Bavuma’s terrific catch at mid-off halted his innings.

Rohit smashed Rabada powerfully through covers, but the South Africa skipper held firmly to the ball in front of his eyes.

India’s turbo-charged start by Rohit was halted by Kagiso Rabada’s wicket-maiden first over, and Maharaj produced a classical left-arm spin to remove the in-form Gill.

The emphatic win would not have been possible without the special effort of skipper Rohit (87 off 101 balls), whose sublime knock stood out as most Indian batters fell by the wayside on a two-paced pitch.

Suryakumar Yadav (49) got the much needed runs in the death overs to push India to 229 for nine.

Shami (4/22) and Bumrah (3/32) stole the show with the ball for the unstoppable hosts as England batters once against cut a sorry figure as they slumped to 129 all out in 34.5 overs for their fifth loss in six games.

England are virtually out of semifinal contention while India, the only unbeaten side in the tournament, are almost there.

Having put up a below par total, India needed early wickets to put pressure on a struggling England batting unit. Bumrah and Shami hunted in tandem to deal a decisive blow, leaving England at 39 for four in the 10th over.

Play and miss was a regular feature of the powerplay as both Bumrah and Shami troubled the batters with a Test match length.

Bumrah got rid of Dawid Malan (16) and Joe Root (0) off successive balls to be on a hat-trick while Shami also did the same by castling Jonny Bairstow (14) and Ben Stokes (0), who had a moment of brain fade after being beaten multiples time.

Stokes wanted to make room to smash Shami out of the park but got himself in a nothing position to see his stumps rattled. Bumrah and Shami’s first spell figures read an envious 5-1-17-2 and 4-0-5-2 respectively.

Kuldeep Yadav made it 52 for five by dismissing skipper Jos Buttler (10) with a stunning ball that pitched way outside the off stump and turned back sharply to crash the stumps.

Shami came back into the attack and had Moeen Ali (15) caught behind for his third wicket. At 81 for six, there was no coming back for a clueless England.

There was plenty of dew on the park in the evening but it wasn’t an issue for the India bowlers.

Earlier, India got to bat first for the first time in the tournament. It was, however, only Rohit and Suryakumar who found a way to bat on a tricky pitch that had a two-paced wicket while the others perished trying to force the pace.

The 91-run partnership between Rohit and K L Rahul (39 off 58) stabilised the innings after India found themselves at 40 for three in the 12th over.

Rohit also added 33 valuable runs with Suryakumar but the skipper’s fall led to a clutch of wickets.

England were finally able to put together an effort worthy of defending champions, excelling both with the ball and in the field.

Chris Woakes (2/33) impressed in his seven-over spell with the new ball while leggie Adil Rashid (2/35) continued to collect wickets in the middle overs. David Willey (3/45) too was effective.

Application was going to be the key on the relaid red soil pitch here and Rohit put up a masterclass.

After consuming six dot balls in the first over of the game bowled by Willey, the India skipper released the pressure by smashing the left-arm pacer for a couple of sixes and a four in his following over.

Rohit used the feet both against the pacers and spinners to manufacture the boundaries but the likes of Virat Kohli (0 off 9 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (4 off 16) departed while searching for that pressure release shot.

It was a rare duck for Kohli, who tried to step out like Rohit only to mistime his shot to Stokes at mid-off.

Shreyas was sent back by Woakes off a perfectly placed short of length ball that got big on the India number four. Clearly, Shreyas needs to fight the demon in his head to improve his short ball play.

Woakes had struggled for accuracy thus far in World Cup but delivered on Sunday.

With three batters dismissed for 40, the onus was on Rohit to take the innings forward and he did with a lot of class.

After stepping out the fast bowlers, Rohit displayed his artistry against the spin trio of Rashid, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali.

He swept Rashid, reverse-swept Livingstone and came down the track to loft Moeen over mid-off for three of the 10 fours he struck. His pick-up shot off Mark Wood that went all the way was also sublime.

In Hardik Pandya’s absence, India fielded five bowlers again but R Ashwin remained out of the playing eleven.

A strong 46000 crowd was in attendance to support the home team.