3 Indian batsmen who are likely to  complete 1000 runs for the year during the ODI series against West Indies

The 5 matches one-day series between India and the West Indies kicks off on Sunday at Guwahati.

In the run-up to the World Cup, the main focus for Team India would be to identify reliable middle-order batsmen to compliment the top order and to lay eyes on the fast bowlers to support Bhuvi and Bumrah.

While the search will be on, there are 3 batsmen in the Indian team who are at the verge of completing 1000 runs for the calendar year 2018. Here is a look at those 3 players.

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#1. Virat Kohli

King Kohli has been unstoppable in 2018

The Indian captain has been in sublime form in 2018 in all formats of the game. He is virtually unstoppable and is ranked the No 1 player in the world.

Kohli is just 221 runs short of that magical figure of 10,000 ODI runs. His scores in 2018 reads 112, 46 not out, 160 not out, 75, 36, 129 not out, 75, 45 & 71. These are unbelievable figures.

This year Kohli has scored 749 runs in 9 one-day internationals at an amazing average of 125. With 5 one-day matches against the Windies coming up, he should cross 1000 runs for the calendar year and 10,000 runs in his one-day international career.

Even 2017 was a prolific year for him as he had scored 1460 runs in 26 matches at an average of 77.

In 11 years of International cricket, Kohli has crossed the 1000 run mark in a calendar year on 5 occasions and once in 2010, he finished on 995. These are amazing figures. In his primitive years in 2008 and 2009, he had featured in only 5 and 10 matches respectively.

In the 52 one-day matches that Kohli has captained India, he has scored 3059 runs at an average of 83 with 13 centuries and 13 fifties. He has the best batting average amongst all captains at the 50 match mark. It only goes to prove that the additional responsibility of being the Captain has only brought about the best in Kohli.

With just 251 runs to score in 5 matches, Kohli should cross the 1000 run mark for the calendar year.

#2. Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan is in the form of his life

In his last 15 ODI innings, Dhawan has scored 938 runs at an average of 72. He is in the form of his life.

Dhawan, being a left-hander, has always been prolific on the off-side. But of late, he tends to stay back and clip deliveries through square leg and mid-wicket. That makes him a powerful player on either side of the wicket.

In the current calendar year 2018, Dhawan has scored 785 runs in 14 matches at an average of 60. Last year, he missed out on an opportunity as he finished with 960 runs in 22 matches at an average of 48.

As an opening batsman, Dhawan exudes confidence and loves challenges. But what Dhawan should learn from both Rohit and Virat is the art of batting through the entire 50 overs.

Dhawan could cause a lot of damage to the opposition if he bats through the innings. He should strive to remain not out.

Like Rohit, Dhawan too is a big match player. Both Rohit and Dhawan compliment each other really well.

Dhawan is 215 runs short of the 1000 run mark for this calendar year. With 4823 runs in 110 ODIs, he is just 177 runs away from reaching 5000 runs in ODIs.

With the kind of form that the southpaw is in, he should complete both the targets quite easily during the West Indies one-day series.

#3. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma - The hitman is in six-hitting form

Rohit Sharma is fresh from completing 7000 runs in ODIs. He had a wonderful Asia Cup both as a batsman and as a leader.

In the Asia Cup, Sharma had scores of 23, 52, 83 not out, 111 not out and 48. In the absence of Kohli, both the Indian openers took on the responsibility to score big.

Rohit Sharma had a slow start to his ODI career. However, things took a new shape when he was promoted to the top. Like Sehwag, Sharma’s career graph made a steep ascent ever since he was promoted to the openers slot. Since then, the hitman has scored 3 double hundreds including the record-breaking 264. Rohit Sharma’s records will stand the test of time.

Sharma’s ability to bat through the entire 50 overs even after reaching his hundred is beyond comparison. During the calendar year 2017, he had scored 1293 runs in 21 innings at an average of 72. In the current year 2018, he has scored 641 runs in 14 matches at an average of 58.

Rohit Sharma is a big match impact player. He is a match-winner who is capable of changing the course of a match with his big hitting abilities.

Out of the 3 Indian batsmen, only Rohit has a bigger target to score 359 runs in 5 innings to reach the magic figure of 1000 runs for the calendar year. But being aware of his ability to play big innings, this target is not impossible for him. All he has to concentrate is to survive the first 25 balls of his innings and the runs will start flowing thereafter.

It is a big positive for Team India that the top 3 batsmen are simultaneously in tremendous form in recent times. However, on the flip side, their good form deny the opportunity for the middle-order batsmen to spend some time at the wicket. As a result, when there is a rare failure from the top order, the middle-order is exposed.

Apart from the above 3 top order batsmen, the next highest scorer for India in 2018 is M.S. Dhoni with 225 runs from 10 innings at an average of 28. Ambati Rayadu has scored 175 runs in 6 innings at a healthy average of 44. Dinesh Karthik has scored 167 runs in 2018 in 7 innings at a decent average of 42. But none of these players have played any match-winning innings.

Hardik Pandya has managed to score just 68 runs in 6 innings. Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey haven’t got enough opportunity in 2018 to prove themselves, though Jadhav will be remembered for his heroics in the Asia Cup final standing on one leg.

One man’s profit is another man’s loss. The way things stand, along with the West Indies team, the India middle-order batsmen might be hoping for the top order to fail. But going by the current form of the top order, it is highly unlikely to happen.

If Virat, Dhawan and Rohit manage to break their respective 1000 mark barrier this year, this would be the first time in the history of one-day cricket that 3 players from the same team happen to do that. 3000 runs in a year is a lot of runs even for a team score.