Virat Kohli, Image credit: PTI
Canberra: India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday became the fastest batsman to score 12,000 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Kohli reached the milestone in the third and final ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Manuka Oval.
The Indian skipper has taken 242 innings (251 matches) to score 12,000 ODI runs, 58 less than legendary Sachin Tendulkar who had reached the landmark in 300 ODI innings (309 matches). Kohli averages close to 60 in the ODI format which he has dominated over the years.
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting comes third in the list as he had taken 314 innings (323 matches) to score 12,000 runs in ODIs. He is followed by Kumar Sangakkara (336 innings, 359 matches), Sanath Jayasuria (379 innings, 390 matches) and Mahela Jayawardene (399 innings, 426 matches).
Kohli has also played 86 Tests and 82 T20Is in which he has scored 7,240 and 2,794 runs respectively. Recently, he became the ninth Indian cricketer to make 250 ODI appearances. He has scored more than 221,000 international runs across formats till now.
Overall, Tendulkar holds the record for making most ODI appearances for India. The 47-year-old played 463 ODIs in his stellar career in which he scored 18,426 runs with the help of 49 hundreds. Besides, he also played 200 Tests and 1 T20I scoring 15,921 and 10 runs respectively.