On Saturday, October 25, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma put on a vintage batting performance in the third ODI of the three-match series against Australia, to help India chase down 237-run target in a convincing
fashion. While the series ended up in the hands of Australia with a 2-1 margin at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the former Indian captains, who are famously called Ro-Ko online, shared an unbeaten stand of 168 runs to take India over the with nine wickets in hand and n with 11.3 overs to spare.
After Indian bowlers made an impressive comeback to bowl out Australia for 236 runs in 46.4 overs, Rohit Sharma shared an opening stand of 69 runs with Indian captain Shubman Gill before Josh Hazlewood dismissed the latter for 24 off 26. With that, Virat Kohli walked to the middle to join Rohit Sharma, and he celebrated his first run of the series with a smile and a fist pump in the 11th over of the innings after getting dismissed for two consecutive ducks earlier in the series.
Rohit Sharma scored 33th hundred and Kohli became second highest run-scorer in ODI history
While Rohit found his fluency at the other end, Kohli hit the first boundary of his innings on the bowling of Adam Zampa after playing three dots and then, he did the same to Hazlewood at the other end. Shortly after, Australian bowlers brought down the run rate to below six with some steady lines and lengths, not allowing the Indian stalwarts to hit any boundaries for 52 balls at a stretch.
Despite that, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli managed to keep the required run rate down to less than four with their ability to find singles and doubles on a consistent basis with the former going past his fifty in 63 balls. India reached 145/1 at the halfway stage before Ro-Ko started to find boundaries on a consistent basis and then, Kohli got to his 75th ODI fifty and kept his innings going alongside Rohit at the other end.
Kohli became the second highest run-scorer in ODI history (14,235*) before Rohit brought up his 33rd ODI hundred in 105 balls on the bowling of Zampa, breaking a lot of records in the process in the 50-overs format. The experience of the former India captains showed on the field as they didn’t throw their wickets away after getting their milestones and putting India on the brink of a consolation victory in the third and final ODI of the series.
Utlimately, Rohit Sharma (121* off 125 with 13 fours and three sixes) and Virat Kohli (74* off 81 with seven fours) stayed in the middle until the end and finished off the match in style when the latter hit Nathan Ellis for a four in the 39th over of the Indian innings.
