Asia Cup 2023: 5 records that can be broken in today’s India vs Pakistan match ft. Virat Kohli and Babar Azam
Personal records are probably the last thing one would be thinking about ahead of the high-octane clash between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday. It's one of those games where, to quote Gautam Gambhir, fans' "individual obsession", takes a backseat and patriotism makes cricket a team sport again.
But still, here we are with five records for you. Because these are five big ones. If broken, they'll pop up on your screen during the match. You might not care amid all the sweating and nail-biting. However, if you know them beforehand, they might enhance your experience or give you some consolation depending on how your team fares.
Spoiler alert: All of them are batting records. If you know any bowling ones that can be broken, do mention them in the comments below and we'll do a separate piece.
Babar Azam
Pakistan's Babar Azam is tantalizingly close to becoming the fastest batter to score 2000 ODI runs as captain. He is currently on 1994 runs from 30 innings and needs just six runs in the next five innings to break the record.
The current holder is none other than Virat Kohli who took 36 innings to go past the 2000 runs mark.
Virat Kohli will chase a massive record in India vs Pakistan match
Virat Kohli is close to a massive record himself. He needs 102 runs in his next 56 innings to become the fastest ever to reach 13000 runs in ODIs.
India's ODI No. 3 has scored two centuries against Pakistan (183 in the 2012 Aisa Cup in Mirpur and 107 in the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide) in just 13 ODIs and a third here will all but guarantee him the record. Sachin Tendulkar is the current holder and he took 321 innings to reach 13000 runs.
If not 102, 79 runs will make Kohli the fifth batter to score 14000 runs across formats at number three. Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Kane Williamson, and Rahul Dravid are the others.
However, all of them played a lot of Test matches at No. 3, unlike Kohli who has batted mostly at four in red-ball cricket.
Imam-ul-Haq
One of the underrated batters in the Pakistani lineup, opener Imam ul Haq can become second-fastest to 3000 ODI runs on Saturday.
The left-handed batter is currently on 2889 runs after 63 innings and needs 111 runs in the next two to beat Shai Hope's record of 67 innings. South Africa's Hashim Amla (57) is the current holder.
111 runs against India would be a tall order, though. In three matches against the arch-rivals, Imam has only managed 19 runs so far at an average of 6.33.
Shubman Gill
From one opener to another. This would be Shubman Gill's first match against Pakistan and he can commemorate it by becoming the fastest batter to score 1500 ODI runs.
He's currently at 1437 runs from just 27 innings and needs 63 runs to break former Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate's record of 32 innings.
For India, Shreyas Iyer holds the record at 38 innings.
Rohit Sharma
Shubman Gill's opening partner and India's captain Rohit Sharma is also chasing a unique record. He needs just a couple of sixes to break Suresh Raina's record of most sixes by an Indian in the ODI format of the Asia Cup.
Rohit has 17 maximums to his name currently and can also break Shahid Afridi's overall record of 26 in the tournament. Given his stats against Pakistan (720 runs in 16 matches at 51.42) it won't be a surprise if he shaves off most of the lead on Saturday.