Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 2 : Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma is poised to become only the fourth Indian batter to hit the 20,000-run milestone in international cricket. Rohit will hit the field against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur on Wednesday. He is only 41 runs away from joining the elite list that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid. Tendulkar leads with 34,357 runs, followed by Virat Kohli with 27808 runs and Dravid with 24,064 runs.

Rohit has 19,959 international runs to his name in 503 matches at an average of 42.46, with 50 centuries and 110 fifties under his belt. The India opener has scored 4,301 runs in 67 Tests. He has 4,231 runs in T20Is and 11,427 in ODIs.

This year in ODIs, Hitman has slammed 561 runs in 12 matches at an average of 51.00 and a strike rate above 99, with two centuries and three fifties, including a best score of 121*.

The Mumbai cricketer, who retired from T20Is following the 2024 World Cup and stepped away from Test cricket in May, now plays in just one format. After the South Africa series, he is expected to feature in the ODI series against New Zealand at home.

Rohit has been in good run. In Australia tour last month, he slammed a fifty and a hundred in a three-match ODI series. He continued his brilliant run in the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi, where the opening batter slammed 57 off 51 balls.

Sharma created history during the match by surpassing Shahid Afridi's record for most sixes in ODIs. Rohit slammed his 352nd six in the format. He overtook Afridi's 351 sixes, who held the record since 2015.

Rohit came into the match, needing just three more sixes to surpass Afridi, who held the record with 351 sixes from 369 innings. Rohit surpassed his records in 100 fewer innings than the former Pakistan captain, as he now has 352 sixes in 269 innings.

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