India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma has Sourav Ganguly's record in sight heading into the 5th ODI

Rohit Sharma had a disastrous start to the ongoing five-match ODI series against Australia. He managed to score just 51 runs from the three games with the top score of 37 and also registered a duck. But the Indian opener roared back to form just when the team needed him the most. After losing the third ODI, India were in desperate need of a good start in the 4th ODI when skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first.

And Rohit totally justified the selection by hammering 95 and forging a 193-run stand with fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan who scored 143. The duo built the foundation for a huge score as India ended on a mammoth total of 358 for 9. However, the bowlers failed to complement the efforts from the batsmen as the visitors chased down the big total inside 48 overs to draw level in the five-match series.

Team India will now be hoping that Rohit maintains his form in the upcoming series-decider in Delhi. The vice-captain too will be looking to build on his 95-run knock. He will also have an opportunity to add another feather to his already illustrious cap. Rohit, the only man to score three double centuries in ODIs, needs 46 runs in the upcoming fifth and final ODI to equal Sourav Ganguly’s record of being the third fastest to reach 8000 runs in ODIs.

The former India skipper achieved the feat in 200 innings and if Rohit plays the Kotla ODI, it will be his 200th innings. Virat is the fastest to 8,000 runs, having achieved the milestone in 175 innings and is followed by AB de Villiers who did it in 182 innings. Overall, Rohit will become the ninth Indian player to reach 8000 runs in ODIs. Prior to him, Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin had achieved the feat.

Stats favour India:

Down after losing two games in a row, India will be taking confidence from their record Australia at the Kotla. Both the teams have played against each other four times at this venue and India have ended up on the winning side thrice. Overall, the hosts have won 12 of the 19 games they have played in the national capital.

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