The 1st ODI between India and West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27 will have a keen eye on it, for reasons beyond the series opener, as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli can achieve a slew of milestones. Both are well-established batters and have some important career landmarks near to them.
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Virat Kohli eyes 15,000 ODI runs
Virat Kohli is just 59 runs shy of crossing 15,000 ODI runs. The right-hander has 14,941 runs from 314 games, and he would be only the second Indian to cross the landmark after Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli could also become the quickest to 15,000 ODI runs. He also has 85 international hundreds and has a tremendous record against West Indies, having scored 2,261 ODI runs, with nine hundreds and 11 fifties from 41 innings. One more hundred would bring him another step closer to the widely talked-about 100 mark.
Rohit Sharma nears 12000 in ODIs
Rohit Sharma has another big milestone in his sights. The Indian opener has amassed 11,895 runs in ODIs so far and requires a mere 105 runs to become the 3rd Indian cricketer to score 12,000 runs in ODIs after Kohli and Tendulkar. Another milestone to look out for is that Rohit is just 135 runs away from becoming the 13th Indian batter to hit 10,000 runs in ODIs; only a few batters have achieved this feat. So far, he has scored 1,613 runs against the West Indies in 35 innings with 3 centuries and 12 half-centuries.
The West Indies remain a productive opponent
Both batters have been in fruitful contact with the Caribbean team. Kohli (66.50) and Rohit (57.60) have been bringing out the big guns more often than not against West Indies in ODIs. Kohli has scored nine hundreds against the team and needs to get just one more to become the first batter to hit 10 ODI hundreds against West Indies. As a few more ground-breaking moments loom large, the first ODI presents an excellent chance for both to enhance their remarkable stats repertoire, just as India kicks off its campaign for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.
