Mighty Hash: Amla breaks Kohli's record to become fastest to score 6,000 ODI runs

SOUTH AFRICAN BATSMAN Hashim Amla became the fastest cricketer to reach 6,000 runs in ODI cricket during the fifth and final match between India and South Africa at Mumbai on Sunday.

Hailed as one of the best batsmen in the Proteas batting order, Amla has had a relatively quiet tour so far, scoring just 66 runs in the four ODIs prior to the decider. On Sunday, the opener needed only 15 runs to reach another milestone in his ODI career. 

With a pull off Mohit Sharma's bowling that went straight to the boundary, Amla became the fastest cricketer in the world to score 6,000 runs, achieving the feat in just 123 innings, breaking Virat Kohli's record of 136 innings. He also went past former West Indian great Sir Viv Richards, along with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, teammate AB de Villiers and ex-Aussie opener Matthew Hayden.

Cricket South Africa congratulated 'Mighty Hash' for his achievement on Twitter:

The Mighty @amlahash has reached 6000 ODI runs in 126 matches at an average of 53.10. Take a bow. #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/93aNuiIFoI

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) October 25, 2015

South Africa have clinched their first-ever bilateral series in India 3-2, despite the absence of their two key players, JP Duminy and Morne Morkel towards the end of the ODI series. However, the coming-of-age of Quinton de Kock and the fabulous form of skipper AB de Villiers was enough to get the Proteas on the winning side. Come the Test series, if an out-of-form Amla gets going, things are going to get a lot more difficult for the Indian bowlers.

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