Virat Kohli will play for India on Sunday, August 4, in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The 35-year-old right-handed batsman scored 24 runs in the first match of the series on Friday. He aims to perform well in the second 50-over match on Sunday to help India defeat Sri Lanka and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Virat Kohli has a golden opportunity
In the second ODI against Sri Lanka, Kohli has the opportunity to make history by becoming the fastest batter in the world to reach 14,000 ODI runs. The former India captain, who debuted in ODIs against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on August 18, 2008, has scored 13,872 runs in 293 matches. He needs 128 more runs to surpass the 14,000-run milestone. If he accomplishes this on Sunday, he will break Sachin Tendulkar’s 18-year-old record.
Sachin reached 14,000 runs in ODIs during his 359th match for India, which was against Pakistan in Peshawar on February 6. So far, only two batters have scored more than 14,000 runs in ODIs.
Fastest to reach 14,000 ODI runs:
Tendulkar leads with 18,426 runs in 463 matches, while former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara holds the second position with 14,234 runs.
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 359 matches (350 innings)
- Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, Asia, ICC) – 402 matches (378 innings)
In the ODI World Cup last year, Virat Kohli won the Player of the Tournament award by scoring 765 runs in 11 matches. He surpassed Ricky Ponting’s record of 13,704 runs and Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of 13,430 runs, making him the third-highest run scorer in ODI history.
- Sachin Tendulkar from India scored the most runs in ODIs with 18,426.
- Kumar Sangakkara from Sri Lanka is second with 14,234 runs.
- Virat Kohli from India follows with 13,872 runs.
- Ricky Ponting from Australia has 13,704 runs.
- Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka completed the top five with 13,430 runs.
Apart from reaching 14,000 runs in ODIs, Kohli could become the fourth player ever to score 27,000 runs in international cricket on Sunday. Currently, Kohli has 26,908 runs from 531 matches for India across all formats. He needs just 92 more runs to join Tendulkar (34,357), Sangakkara (28,016), and Ponting (27,483) in this exclusive group.
Also Read: IND Vs SL: Sri Lanka Shuffles Line-Up, Brings Vandersay for India Showdown
