India vs. Australia: Kohli Breaks Tendulkar’s Record To Become Fastest To Reach 12,000 ODI Runs

Indian captain Virat Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest to reach 12,000 ODI runs Wednesday.

Kohli achieved the landmark during the third One-Day International (ODI) between India and Australia in Canberra in the first innings after opting to bat. Tendulkar got to his 12,000th run in his 300th innings and Kohli bettered the record by doing so in only 242 innings.

With 18, 426 runs in 463 ODIs, Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in the ODIs for India with Kohli in the second place, who is currently playing his 250th ODI for his country. India’s iconic No. 3 batsman, Kohli, also holds the record for the fastest batsman (in terms of innings) to make 10,000 and 11,000 runs in ODIs. He reached 11,000 runs in 222 innings and became the fastest to break the 10000-run mark by doing so in his 205th innings.

Kohli, who made his ODI debut in 2008 during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, has registered 43 ODI hundreds over the years, while he scored his 60th half-century Wednesday with his knock of 78-ball 63. When Tendulkar retired, Kohli was expected to be the next big figure in limited-overs for India, and the Delhi lad has exceptionally lived up to the expectations.

In the ongoing tour of Australia, Kohli had a slow start as he had managed only 21 runs in the opening ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Bouncing back, Kohli now has registered two back-to-back fifties with the first one coming in the second ODI, where he scored 89. Having suffered a defeat in the opening two ODIs of the underway three-match series, Kohli’s side has lost the series, and the ongoing third ODI in Canberra is a mere dead rubber.

Kohli, who has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI, will return to Australia after the first Test in Adelaide to be with his wife, who is expecting their first child. After the ODI series, India and Australia will lock horns in a three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series before the Test series goes underway, starting Dec. 17.