India vs Australia 2020: 3 players who could achieve personal milestones

Australia's tour of India kicks off on January 14th, with the first ODI to be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. Although both the teams are evenly matched on paper, India will start as favorites considering their impeccable record at home. The Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka in the recently held T20I series and got the better of West Indies previously, and would look to carry on the momentum against the mighty Aussies.

On the other hand, Australia would want to repeat their heroics from the last tour, wherein they beat India 2-0 in the T20I series and 3-2 in the ODI series that followed. Under the leadership of Aaron Finch, and aided by David Warner and Steve Smith at the top, Australia possess a strong top-order that is on par with the famed Indian batting line-up (that consists of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli).

When two strong teams like these collide, record-breaking performances are almost guaranteed. However, there are also some players on both teams who will be aiming to achieve personal milestones.

This list takes a look at three players who are set to achieve personal records during the upcoming India vs Australia ODI series.

#1 Kuldeep Yadav needs 1 more wicket to complete 100 ODI wickets

Kuldeep Yadav is just one wicket short of 100 ODI wickets

Kuldeep Yadav has been the most prolific Indian bowler in the limited-overs format for quite some time. The left-arm Chinaman has been the go-to bowler for Virat Kohli in crunch situations and has delivered more often than not.

The 25-year-old made his ODI debut in 2017 and has since played 56 ODIs, in which he has picked up 99 wickets at an average of 24.80 with best figures of 6/25 against England at Nottingham in 2018.

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By scalping just one more wicket, Yadav would become the 22nd Indian bowler to have a century of wickets to his name in ODI cricket.

#2 David Warner needs 10 more runs to reach 5,000 ODI runs

David Warner needs 10 more runs to become the 15th Australian to score 5,000 ODI runs

David Warner has been in brilliant form with the bat ever since he made his return to international cricket in 2019. The 33-year-old had received a one-year ban in 2018 after he was caught in the ball-tampering saga along with Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.

2019 was a great year in ODIs for the hard-hitting left-handed batsman as he scored 647 runs at an average of 71.89 with three centuries and three half-centuries to his name. He would want to continue his golden run with the bat in the upcoming series against India and can be mighty dangerous if he gets going.

Warner made his ODI debut in 2009 and has since played in 116 ODIs, in which he has scored 4,990 runs at an average of 45.78.

That means, the southpaw needs ten runs to reach 5,000 runs in ODI cricket, which would also make him the 15th Aussie to achieve the milestone.

#3 Rohit Sharma needs 56 runs to reach 9,000 runs in ODI cricket

Rohit Sharma needs 56 runs to become the seventh Indian to score 9,000 runs in ODI cricket

Rohit Sharma had a stupendous 2019 with the bat in all formats. He proved his capabilities as a Test opener and in limited-overs cricket, he was India's best batsman by a mile.

In 2019, Sharma scored 1,490 runs in 28 games at an astonishing average of 57.31. He also had seven ODI centuries to his name, the most by a batsman in the past year. Sharma played a vital role in the recent series wins against Bangladesh and West Indies and would want to continue his golden run with the bat against the mighty Aussies.

The right-handed batsman made his ODI debut in 2007 and has since played 221 ODI matches, scoring 8,944 runs at an average of 49.14 with 43 half-centuries and 28 centuries to his name.

The Hitman requires 56 runs to reach 9,000 runs in ODI cricket and should he manage that, he would become the seventh Indian player to do so.