On Saturday, October 25, the third and final ODI of the series was played between the Indian national cricket team led by Shubman Gill and the Australian national cricket team led by Mitchell Marsh.
India won the match by nine wickets to avoid a series whitewash at the Sydney Cricket Ground and in his post-match speech, Shubman Gill spoke about the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli give a batting masterclass
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returned to international cricket in the series against Australia but failed to perform well in the opening ODI series at Perth Stadium.
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While Rohit managed to bounce back from the setback with a stunning 73-run knock in the second ODI in Adelaide, the same was not the case for Virat Kohli, who picked up his second consecutive duck in his ODI career.
However, the duo displayed a batting masterclass in the third ODI in Sydney, leading India to a resounding victory. While chasing 237, they looked in complete control, putting together a partnership of 168* runs off 170 balls, with Rohit scoring 121* runs and Kohli scoring 74* runs.
With this performance, they also quashed rumors of an ODI retirement and kept their hopes alive for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Discussions to be held after South Africa series – Shubman Gill
In the post-match press conference, Shubman Gill was asked whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be forced to play domestic cricket despite their heroics against Australia. He said he would make a decision after the South Africa series. he said:
“There is not much space for the South Africa series. There is a little space between the South Africa and New Zealand series. We will have discussions after the South Africa series.”
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have helped me as captain. If I have any doubts on the field, I can always ask them anything,” Gill further said.
Notably, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had made it mandatory for Rohit and Kohli to participate in domestic cricket.
India lost the first two matches and were eliminated from the ODI series.
The Men in Blue had lost their third consecutive ODI series against Australia after losing the first two matches played at Perth Stadium and Adelaide Oval.
This was Shubman Gill’s first ODI series as captain and he failed miserably at the helm. In the opening match of the ODI series, India suffered a seven-wicket defeat with 29 balls remaining.
The match was marred by rain due to multiple stoppages and was contested for 26 overs per side. Batting first, India struggled mightily and ended up posting 136/9 on the board.
With the arrival of DLS Australia’s target was reduced to 131 and riding on good performances from Mitchell Marsh, Josh Philippe and Matt Renshaw, Australia easily won the match.
The match then shifted to Adelaide where Australia once again outplayed India and collectively won by two wickets with 22 balls remaining.
Batting first, India managed to post 264/9 on the board thanks to the brilliant performance of former captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer. Both are players who have enjoyed brilliant half-centuries.
India’s bowlers got off to a decent start as they defended their total, but the Australian batsmen then recovered well and finished the match in 46.2 overs.
Also read: Virat Kohli surpasses Sachin Tendulkar to become the highest run-scorer in the history of white-ball cricket