India vs Australia: Former captain Virat Kohli eyes plethora of records in ODI series vs Men in Yellow

After winning 2022/23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, India will take on Australia in the three-match ODI series opener, on Friday (March 17), at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The Men in Blue will be without regular captain Rohit Sharma, who is out of action due to personal reasons and will join for the remainder ODIs, as Hardik Pandya will lead the side.

In Rohit's absence, former captain Virat Kohli will be expected to guide the young batters and take the bulk of the scoring responsibilities. The 34-year-old Kohli has been in good form in the 50-over format, smashing three tons in the last four months. The star batter is on the cusp of achieving a plethora of records in the three-match ODI series versus Steve Smith & Co. The right-hander isonly 191 runs away from becoming the fifth batter to complete 13,000 runs in ODIs. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar (18426), Kumar Sangakkara (14,234), Ricky Ponting (13,704), and Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430) are the only ones to be part of the 13k club.

Kohli is also just threecenturies away from equalling Tendulkar's world record for most ODI hundreds (49). Kohli's tally stands at 46. He averages a superb54.81 versus the Men in Yellow, along with ten half-centuries and eight hundreds. Thus, he has a chance to equal Tendulkar's tally. It is to be noted that Kohli has scored three tons on the trot in the format once (in 2018 during the home series versus West Indies). Hence, there is every chance for him to replicate the same once again and come at par with SRT.

In addition, Kohli is eyeing to overtake Ponting in the list of batters with the most runs in home ODIs. He is currently third in the overall listbehind Tendulkar and Ponting. The Master Blaster is at the top with6,976 runs whereas the former Australian captain comes next with5,406 runs. Meanwhile, Kohli has5,358 runs under his belt in home conditions; 48 runs away from the Aussie.

Since the 2015 ODI World Cup, India and Australia have squared off in five bilateral ODI series. The Men in Blue have won twice and lost the remaining three. Hence, they will hope for a winning start in the three-match series opener in Mumbai on Friday.