Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have spent a decade rewriting cricket’s record books. Now, as India line up for a three-match ODI series against South Africa, they are walking into a window where a ridiculous stack of milestones can fall together.
When Rohit and Virat walk out in Ranchi to play the first ODI, one landmark will tumble immediately. Rohit and Virat will feature in their 392nd international match together, overtaking Tendulkar-Dravid (391) as the Indian pair to share the field most often in international cricket. It is quite a powerful symbol of how thoroughly they have defined India’s modern era.
Rohit’s six-hitting storm and the 20,000-run gate
Rohit Sharma’s numbers have stacked up almost unnoticed in the shadow of his white-ball aggression and domination. He starts the series on 19,902 international runs, needing just 98 to become only the fourth Indian – after Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Kohli – to cross 20,000.
The more explosive milestones, though, are in the air. With 349 ODI sixes, Rohit is just three blows away from overtaking Shahid Afridi (351) and claiming the record for most ODI sixes of all time. Add the fact that he already tops the overall international sixes chart with 642, and this series could see him become the first player ever to 650 international sixes if he hits eight more.
Also, he is just 27 runs short of 2,000 international runs vs South Africa, 66 runs away from 9,000 international runs at home, and 133 from 5,000 ODI runs in India – each of them realistic in a three-match series.
Kohli set to rewrite record books again
For Virat Kohli, the series offers a mix of near-certainties and one towering Everest. Against South Africa in ODIs, he already has 1,504 runs at an average of 65.39 with five hundreds, and sits just 32 runs behind Jacques Kallis (1,535) in India vs South Africa ODI run charts. One decent outing takes him to second place, behind only Sachin Tendulkar.
A single century here would be loaded with meaning. It would give Kohli six ODI Hundreds vs South Africa, breaking a three-way tie with Tendulkar and David Warner for most centuries against them, and simultaneously push him to 52 ODI Hundreds overall – the most centuries in any single format, moving him clear of Tendulkar’s 51 Test tons.
Beyond that lies the mega-number: 28,000 international runs. Kohli is 337 runs short, needing a video-game series to get there in these three games, but whenever that landmark comes, he will join just Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara in that club – and he will arrive faster than anyone in history.
Three ODIs, one opposition, two modern greats – and a scorecard full of records waiting to be edited.
