Australia vs India: Brisbane Test can see these milestones
Australia and India are set to lock horns in the 3rd Test of the Border-Gavakasar Trophy at The Gabba, Brisbane. At 1-1, the five-match Test series remains evenly poised. India won the Perth Test before Australia bounced back in Adelaide. The impending Test in Brisbane would see both sides fighting for crucial ICC World Test Championship points. Here are the key milestones on offer.
Virat Kohli: 1,500 Test runs in Australia
Virat Kohli silenced his critics with a phenomenal century in Perth before failing in Adelaide. A spicy deck at The Gabba awaits him! Notably, Kohli could become only the second Indian to complete 1,500 runs Down Under in the format. He is 25 runs shy of the same. He could match Sachin Tendulkar, who owns the most Test runs for India in Australia (1,809).
Shubman Gill: 2,000 runs in Tests
Shubman Gill, who started his journey as an opener, has finally cemented his spot in Indian Test side as the number three batter. Gill couldn't capitalize his starts in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide (31 and 28). The Indian batter is now closing in on 2,000 runs in Test cricket. He requires 141 runs to unlock this achievement.
Rishabh Pant: Second-most runs for India as wicket-keeper against Australia
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been a class apart against Australia in Test cricket. Pant powered India to an incredible series win Down Under in 2021. In the upcoming Brisbane Test, Pant could become the second-highest run-scorer among designated Indian wicket-keepers against Australia. With 711 runs, he is behind Mahendra Singh Dhoni (990) and Syed Kirmani (756) on this elite tally.
Steven Smith: 10,000 runs; 200th innings
Although form is not on Steven Smith's side, he is never devoid of milestones in Test cricket. He is 296 shy of completing 10,000 runs in the format. Only Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh have reached this milestone for Australia so far. The impending Brisbane Test could also see Smith playing his 200th Test innings. He is at 198.
Marnus Labuschagne: 4,000 runs in WTC
Smith's compatriot Marnus Labuschagne is also on the verge of reaching another landmark. The latter is set to become only the second batter with 4,000 runs in the World Test Championship. He requires 27 runs for the same. England batter Joe Root leads this tally with 5,457 runs in the championship. Notably, only two other batters have 3,000-plus runs in this regard.