India and Australia will play a three-match ODI series starting March 17. With the ICC World Cup 2023 to be held in India this year, this series is of utmost importance, given teams are learning about the personnel and what balance will be required going forward. For India, Rohit Sharma will be missing the first ODI. Australia have regulars Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins missing. It’s an opportunity for the others to step in for the duo. India-Australia limited-overs assignments have always been engaging, and this will be no different. In terms of the head-to-head record, India have claimed 53 wins from 143 matches. Australia have claimed 80 wins. 10 games have seen no results.
Ahead of a crunch series on offer, we decode the records that can be broken.
13000 runs for Kohli
India’s senior batter Virat Kohli ended his drought in the longest format by slamming a 186-run knock in the Ahmedabad encounter. Kohli will be riding on confidence after a gusty and gritty knock. Kohli brought up his 75th international century and will be hungry to extend his run. In ODIs, Kohli, who is India’s second-highest scorer, has smashed 12809 runs at an average of 57.69. He needs 191 runs to reach the 13000-run mark. Kohli will become only the second Indian and the fifth overall to attain this milestone. Kohli, who has 2083 versus Australia in ODI cricket, can surpass the mark of Ricky Ponting (2164) in terms of runs in India vs Australia ODI matches.
10000 runs for Rohit
Rohit will have two games to make his presence felt and reach the 10000-run mark. He has managed 9782 runs in ODIs at 48.91. He can become the sixth Indian to surpass the 10000-run mark. Rohit has amassed 2208 runs versus the Aussies, having slammed 76 sixes. He can become the first batter to smash 80-plus sixes in India-Australia matches.
5000 runs for Smith
Aussie senior batter and stand-in skipper Steve Smith has scored 4917 runs at 45.11. He is line to cross the 5000-run mark and become the 17th batter to do so for Australia. Versus India, he has 1123 runs and can go past former Aussie star David Boon (1212 runs).
Other batting records on offer
Glenn Maxwell has scored 913 runs versus India at 38.04. He can reach the 1000-run mark alongside David Warner, who has managed 990 runs versus India. Maxwell has 3482 runs in Odis and can get past the mark of 3500. He is also in line to surpass Mark Taylor (3582 runs). Shubman Gill has been in dream form with the bat for India. He has 1254 runs at 73.76. He can race past 1500 ODI runs. Hardik Pandya (1518) can get past Irfan Pathan (1544) and Shreyas Iyer (1631) in terms of runs.
Bowling records on offer
Yuzvendra Chahal has 121 scalps and is four shy of the 125-wicket mark. Pandya, who has 68 scalps, can get to a mark of 75, surpassing the likes of RP Singh, Madan Lal, and Sunil Joshi among Indian bowlers. Adam Zampa (127) can get past Andrew Symonds (133) regarding ODI scalps for the Aussies. Ravindra Jadeja has 189 scalps in ODIs and can surpass Venkatesh Prasad (196) to become India’s 7th-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket. Jadeja also has 28 scalps versus the Aussies and can get past Javagal Srinath (33) and Harbhajan Singh (32).