Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to break the record for the fastest pair to reach 5,000 ODI runs in terms of innings. The veteran duo needs just two more runs to achieve the feat if they bat together against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 clash on September 2 at Palleke International Cricket Stadium.
The record is currently held by West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes who crossed the 5,000 ODI-run mark from 97 innings. They are followed by Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist who reached the milestone in 104 innings. Sri Lankan pair Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara took one more inning to cross the 5,000-run mark together.
For India, the quickest Indian pair to reach 5,000 ODI runs is Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan from 112 innings. Rohit and Kohli will become the third Indian pair to share 5,000 runs in ODIs. The list is topped by Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar who put on 8,227 runs from 176 innings from 1992 to 2007.
Meanwhile, Rohit also has a chance to leave Pakistan's Shoaib Malik behind on the list of most runs in Asia Cup history. The 36-year-old has scored 745 runs from 21 innings at an average of 46.56 including one century and six half-centuries. Malik is currently 41 runs ahead as he has scored 786 runs from 15 innings at an average of 65.50 including three centuries and three half-centuries.
The list of highest run-scorers in Asia Cup history (ODIs) is topped by Sanath Jayasuriya (1,220 runs) followed by Kumar Sangakkara (1,075 runs) and Sachin Tendulkar (971 runs).
On the other hand, Kohli has a chance to reach the top 10. He has scored 613 runs from 10 innings at an average of 61.30 including three centuries and one half-century. He did not feature in the Asia Cup 2018 where Rohit led India to the title win.
The 34-year-old needs 36 more runs to leave Marvan Atapattu (642 runs), Aravinda de Silva (645 runs), and MS Dhoni (648 runs) in one go.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Watch: Who's better bowler between Broad and Anderson? England pacers reveal in hilarious ‘this or that’ video
Romelu Lukaku joins AS Roma on season-long loan from Chelsea: A fresh start after Inter Milan stint
