Virat Kohli set to break this record of Ricky Ponting
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup, which will be played in the ODI format, will get underway on August 30. Indian batter Virat Kohli is among the batters to watch out for in the event. He has been sensational in the competition, having smoked 613 runs in 11 ODIs at 61.30. He is set to break a record of Australian legend Ricky Ponting.
Kohli likely to surpass Ponting at Asia Cup
Kohli, arguably the best modern-day batter in white-ball cricket, owns the second-most centuries in ODI cricket. With 46 tons, he is only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar (49). In a career spanning over a decade, the former has slammed as many as 111 ODI fifty-plus scores. Kohli is set to surpass Ponting, who owns 112 such scores in the format.
Only five batters have over 100 fifty-plus ODI scores
Only five cricketers, including Kohli, have recorded over 100 fifty-plus scores in ODIs. He is only behind Tendulkar (145), Kumar Sangakkara (118), Ponting (112), as well as ahead of Jacques Kallis (103). Notably, Kohli is the only batter among them to have played less than 300 innings (265). Tendulkar: 452 innings, Sangakkara: 380 innings, Ponting: 365 innings, and Kallis: 314 innings.
Kohli miles ahead of active Indian batters
Kohli is miles ahead of any active Indian cricketer in terms of ODI fifty-plus scores. The incumbent Team India captain Rohit Sharma is Kohli's closest rival, with 78 such scores. Shikhar Dhawan (56) follows Rohit in this regard.
Kohli can also surpass Kallis
Kohli is an acclaimed Run Machine across formats. He is among five batters with over 200 fifty-plus scores in international cricket. The Indian batter owns 207 international fifty-plus scores in 559 innings. He is only behind Tendulkar (264 in 782 innings), Ponting (217 in 668 innings), Sangakkara (216 in 666 innings), and Kallis (211 in 617 innings).
Kohli could become fastest to 13,000 ODI runs
Kohli can become the fifth batter to accomplish 13,000 ODI runs after Tendulkar (18,426), Sangakkara (13,975), Ponting (13,589), and Sanath Jayasuriya (13,364). Kohli current tally stands at 12,898 runs in 265 innings at 57.32 (100s: 46, 50s: 65). He needs just 102 runs in his next 55 innings to eclipse Tendulkar as the fastest batter to accomplish the milestone.
