Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the two senior pros, rolled back the clock in Sydney, stitching an unbeaten partnership of 168 runs to take India home in a run-chase. However, since the duo is active just in the ODIs, there appearances at the highest level will be limited for India.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli gave everyone a timely reminder that ‘we still have it’ as the duo scripted an impressive win in the final match of the ODI series against Australia in Sydney. Rohit, who was coming off a gritty knock of 73 in the second ODI and Kohli, who had a couple of ducks, put all the uncertainty over their spots and availability aside, as one smashed a century and the other an unbeaten fifty as India avoided a series whitewash against Australia, who one the first two games quite comfortably.
Rohit won the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series for scoring a century in Sydney and overall 201 runs across three games, while Kohli stayed unbeaten on 74. While many suspected that this could be the last series for both Rohit and Kohli for India, both quashed the speculations at least for now. While Rohit, taking confidence from his knock in Adelaide a couple of days ago, looked to take on the bowling, Kohli after getting the first 20-30 runs quickly, was happy to play the second fiddle and focused more on spending time in the middle and going unbeaten.
The series did raise a few questions regarding India’s balance and combination and if they are playing the people in their right positions, but the win in Sydney will be key, not just for the team to go into the T20Is with some confidence, but also into their next ODI assignment, a month later at home against South Africa.ย
The three-match ODI series begins on November 30 in Ranchi, which is when the duo will be in action once again for India, this time at home. South Africa will be touring India for a couple of Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is, keeping the T20 World Cup in mind and since both Rohit and Kohli play just the 50-over format, they will be seen in those three matches in Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam.
Before the IPL and the T20 World Cup, India have a couple of assignments – multi-format series against South Africa and then the white-ball series against New Zealand – both at home. India will be playing three more ODIs and five T20Is against the Black Caps on the heels of the T20 World Cup in February-March. However, there is a huge possibility that a call on Rohit and Kohli’s future might be taken after these nine ODIs, keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind.
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