India vs Sri Lanka: Shikhar Dhawan could surpass Sourav Ganguly to achieve huge milestone in 1st ODI
Dhawan currently has 5,977 runs in the ODIs. If he manages to score 27 runs, he would reach the 6,000-run mark, becoming only the 10th Indian batsman to reach the milestone.
The first ODI against Sri Lanka will be a big test for Shikhar Dhawan, who will be leading the troops for the entire tour. Dhawan has been named as the captain in the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who both are in the UK for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
The left-handed batsman would wish to get off the mark in style as captain and pick up the win. He would also want to showcase his talents with the bat as there is heavy competition for the opening slot in the current Indian cricket team set-up.
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Moreover, Dhawan will also be on the cusp of achieving a huge milestone in the 1st ODI, and if he manages to do so, he will surpass former India cricketer Sourav Ganguly to reach an impressive landmark.
Dhawan currently has 5,977 runs in the ODIs. If he manages to score 23 runs, he would reach the 6,000-run mark, becoming only the 10th Indian batsman to reach the milestone.
Dhawan would also become the 2nd quickest Indian to reach the feat, with Virat Kohli leading the charts in the list of fastest Indian batsman to reach 6,000 ODI runs. While Kohli achieved the feat in 136 innings, Dhawan would reach the mark in his 140th innings. It had taken Ganguly 147 to reach the same mark.
Overall, Dhawan will be 4th fastest batsman to score 6000 ODI runs after South Africa's Hashim Amla (123 innings), Kohli (136 innings), and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (139).
Here is a look at some other milestones that Dhawan may achieve in the first ODI:
-- 35 y 225 days: Dhawan will also be the oldest IND skipper on captaincy debut.
-- 25: Dhawan will be the 25th IND captain to lead in ODIs.
--17: runs Dhawan needs to complete 1000 ODI runs vs SL in ODIs. Also, the quickest to score 1000 ODI runs vs SL in terms of innings played.
--35: runs Dhawan needs to complete 10000 International runs. He will be the 14th IND batsman to reach this landmark.
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