Shubman Gill on Saturday attributed his first victory as India’s ODI captain to the exceptional innings played by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, describing the nine-wicket win against Australia in the third
match as a “near-perfect game.”
Rohit and Virat secured an unbeaten 168-run partnership for the second wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. Chasing a modest 237-run target, Rohit and captain Shubman Gill gave India a solid start, balancing aggression and caution to keep the scoreboard moving. Gill, after two failures, seemed set for a long innings. However, post-powerplay, Josh Hazlewood caught an edge from Gill, which wicketkeeper Alex Carey snagged, ending Gill’s innings at 24 off 26 balls. Virat Kohli, who had yet to score in the series after two ducks, gently flicked his first ball for a single and celebrated with a fist bump. Virat and Rohit then showcased their strokes, dismantling Australia’s pace attack. Adam Zampa, who had troubled India with a four-wicket haul earlier, faced Rohit’s powerful hitting.
Rohit cautiously reached fifty in 63 deliveries, then accelerated to his 33rd ODI century in just 42 more balls. Virat effectively used his wrists to score his 75th ODI half-century. The match was effectively decided, and Virat hit the winning boundary, securing a consolation win for India with over 11 overs to spare. Rohit and Virat remained unbeaten on 121 off 125 and 74 off 81 balls respectively, as the series ended 2-1 in Australia’s favour.
India Vs Australia: 3rd ODI – HIGHLIGHTS
“We had a near-perfect game. The chase was pleasing to see. Rohit and Kohli have done it for so many years, and it was a delight to watch. It was a special win on a special ground,” Gill said during the post-match presentation, despite India losing the three-match series 1-2.
Gill praised pacer Harshit Rana, who took four wickets, and the spinners for containing the Australian batsmen during the middle overs.
“We pulled things back in the middle overs. Our spinners contained (batters) in the middle and pacers took key wickets. Harshit bowled fast in the middle overs, we need that quality,” he added.
‘India Were Too Good’
Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh commended Rohit and Kohli for their exceptional performances but expressed regret that his team could not capitalise on their strong position of 195 for three with around 15 overs left.
“We’ve seen Rohit and Virat do that over 10 years against lots of teams. We needed one more stand in the back-end of our first innings. We had a great platform at 195 for three.”
“But we couldn’t cash in. India were too good with bat. I think the experienced guys who came into the side – (Matthew) Renshaw, (Nathan) Ellis etc, did well we can be proud of winning the series after two games,” said Marsh.
(With inputs from Agencies)
