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Ton-up Rohit, Virat dominate in India’s consolation win
Their unbeaten 168-run stand seals a nine-wicket win in the final ODI in Sydney, puts to rest retirement conjecture
Kolkata: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli turned back the clock with a splendid batting display to help India beat Australia by nine wickets with 11.3 overs to spare in the third ODI in Sydney on Saturday.
Rohit was unbeaten on 121 after bringing up his 33rd hundred, Kohli scored an unbeaten 74 to overtake Kumar Sangakkara and rise to second for most ODI runs, behind Sachin Tendulkar. They raised their 12th partnership of 150-plus ODI runs (168*), going level with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
It was a consolation win alright but from a long-term perspective, India now know they have a solid foundation to work on keeping in mind the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Going into the match holding an unassailable 2-0 series lead, Australia managed a paltry 236 after choosing to bat on what was easily the best surface of the series. Matthew Renshaw hit his maiden ODI half-century, but no one else among the other five Aussie batters to cross 20 could convert their starts.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head gave Australia a brisk start as they cruised to 50 in 45 balls before Head fell in the 10th over. Mathew Short joined Marsh to keep finding the gaps as Australia motored to 150 in 28.3 overs. Three hundred was a plausible score at that point but India started to work the middle overs in their favour, checking Australia by taking wickets at regular intervals.
First, Alex Carey was caught superbly by Shreyas Iyer running back from backward point, but he suffered a left ribcage injury in the process and was taken to the hospital for further checks. Renshaw was then adjudged leg before off Washington Sundar, and in the next over Mitchell Owen was dismissed by Harshit Rana, who ended with a creditable 4/49. Also effective and economical were Sundar — returning 2/44 — and Axar Patel, who conceded just 18 runs in six overs.
The target was not challenging but under lights, India still needed a good start. Rohit and Shubman Gill provided a 69-run opening stand before Kohli came out to bat to a thunderous ovation. He cut Adam Zampa fiercely for a four before a top edge off Josh Hazlewood flew over the wicketkeeper’s head for four. By then Rohit was already inching towards the 40s, milking Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis for two boundaries in each of their overs. He then took on Zampa, going inside out to hit a huge six before going down on one knee to slog sweep him for another maximum.
Runs never come easy against Australia in Australia, especially on the back of two consecutive ducks, but India’s positive start and the fact that they were finally chasing helped Kohli warm up to the task. “You might have played international cricket for a long time, but the game shows you ways at this stage. Almost 37 (years old) in the next few days, but chasing always brings the best out of me,” said Kohli after the match.
He survived a close lbw appeal against Nathan Ellis on 36, but any doubts about his touch was dispelled when he unfurled a majestic straight drive off Starc for a boundary. From there it was like clockwork, Rohit dropping the ball and going for risk-free singles and Kohli working the gaps when not finding the boundaries. So organic was the scoring process with the duo that India were never pressed during the chase once they got together.
“I think from early on, we’ve understood the situation well,” said Kohli. “That’s what we’ve always done well (as a pair). We’re probably the most experienced pair now, but back in the day when we were young, we knew we could take the game away from them with big partnerships.”
It probably helped that Starc and Hazlewood bowled just 11 overs between them but India still had to earn this victory after Rohit quietly made it to his 33rd ODI hundred (121* - 125b, 13x4, 3x6). Punching Zampa to long-off for a single, Rohit briefly raised his bat to soak in the applause in what must be his final appearance in Australia.
He then picked up the pace of the chase, swiping Short over mid-wicket for a four before slog sweeping him for a flat six. By then the 150-run partnership had been brought up after Kohli flicked Ellis off the pads for a boundary through midwicket. The winning runs too came off his bat, Kohli ramping Ellis over the vacant slip region to beat third man for a four that sealed a massive win for India.
