3 records and milestones to watch out for in today’s India vs Sri Lanka match of the 2023 World Cup ft. Mohammed Shami
The last time India and Sri Lanka played an ODI, in the 2023 Asia Cup final, dozens of known and unknown records breathed their last.
Mohammed Siraj wreaked havoc with the ball to grab a spell of 6/21 as the tournament hosts capitulated for just 50 runs in a blink of an eye and India chased it down in one more delivery than the T20 powerplay.
Today, they meet at a bigger stage - the 2023 World Cup - but ironically, with much less at stake. India has all but qualified for the semis and instead of carrying the attitude of "winning", they'd happily take "not losing".
Sri Lanka still has a chance to reach the semis but this match is their final hope of leaving their mark at the World Cup and clinging to some pride.
Some individual records are still on the line, though. Here are three of them you can watch out for:
#3 Shreyas Iyer could be the fastest non-opener Indian to 2,000 runs in ODIs
Shreyas Iyer continued to underperform in the 2023 World Cup with a score of 4 (16) against England. Although he has had less than usual to do amid India's brilliant top-order starts, the team would have wanted more than 134 runs at 33.50 from their No. 4 batter. His short-ball issues have only drawn more flak too.
But the right-handed batter is still quite close to a commendable record. He has 1,935 runs from 48 ODIs. If he scores 65 runs today, he'll become the joint-second-fastest Indian to score 2,000 ODI runs alongside Shikhar Dhawan. He'll also be the quickest non-opener to the mark, breaking Sourav Ganguly's record of 52 innings.
The fastest overall is Shubman Gill, with the youngster recently reaching the landmark in only his 38th ODI innings.
#2 Sadeera Samarawickrama could be the fastest to 1,000 ODI runs for Sri Lanka this decade
Sri Lanka's late-bloomer middle-order batter Sadeera Samarawickrama has had clear issues against spin and in certain match situations. But if you just look at the 28-year-old's numbers, he could be a big star in the making.
In just 26 ODI innings, he has scored 946 runs at an average of 41.13. If he scores 54 more runs today, he'll become the fastest Sri Lankan to score 1000 ODI runs in this century, breaking Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, and Charith Asalanka's jointly-held record of 28 innings.
Reaching the mark in 27 innings will help him tie with the overall Sri Lankan record-holder Roy Dias, who did so in 1985.
#1 Mohammed Shami needs 5 wickets to become India's best at World Cups
Supposed to be India's backup pacer, Mohammed Shami has taken the 2023 World Cup by storm. He has put himself among the top wicket-takers of the tournament by picking up nine wickets in just two matches at an average of 8.44.
And now he's closest to one of the biggest records every Indian bowler would wish to achieve in their career. He just needs five more wickets to become the country's highest-ever wicket-taker in World Cups, breaking Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath's jointly-held record of 44 wickets in 23 and 34 matches, respectively.
Shami is currently at 40 wickets after just 13 matches. This is quite likely his last World Cup but the pacer is making sure to make it count!