India vs New Zealand 2017: Virat Kohli on the verge of becoming the fastest to 9,000 ODI runs
Indian captain Virat Kohli is on the verge of creating a world record in the third ODI between India and New Zealand. The 28-year-old batsman is currently on 8,917 ODI runs from 193 innings (201 matches) and is hot on the heels of AB de Villiers, who holds the record for being the fastest to 9,000 ODI runs. Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate claimed the record earlier this year when he got to the mark in 205 innings (214 matches).
Kohli needs to score 83 runs in the next 11 innings to claim sole custody of the record and another feather to an already glittering cap. The Indian captain is the leading run-getter in international cricket in the calendar year and also the only player to have scored in excess of 1,000 ODI runs in 2017.
Heading into the third ODI against New Zealand, he is just nine runs shy of making it two consecutive years in which he has over 2,000 runs in a calendar year. Since his debut year, he has never averaged below 40 in a calendar year in ODIs and he has scored 1,347 runs at an average of 74.83 this year. Last year, he averaged a staggering 92.37 in ODIs.
Earlier in 2017, AB de Villiers broke Sourav Ganguly's record that stood for over 13 years. In the third ODI against New Zealand, which the Proteas won, the right-hander, playing in his 214th ODI, got to the mark, 23 innings faster than the former Indian captain. In doing so, he also became the 18th player in ODI history to cross 9,000 ODI runs.
Should Kohli get to the mark during the third ODI, he will also hold the record of being the quickest to 9,000 runs in terms of time taken from debut. Rahul Dravid currently holds the record, having got to the mark 9 years and 322 days from his ODI debut. Should the Indian captain get to the mark, not only will he break Dravid's record but will also become only the second player to have to the mark inside a decade from their ODI debut.
Considering the wealth of talent that India possess, it is unsurprising to note that four Indians make the cut in terms of the top ten fastest to the 9,000 mark. Aside from former world record holder, Ganguly, who is currently in second place, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid feature in the top ten.
AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis are the two Proteas batsmen to feature in the list while Brian Lara and Chris Gayle also feature.
Here is the complete list of top ten batsmen who were quickest to the 9000 ODI runs mark.
*indicates the South African batsman currently holds the world record as of October 28, 2017.