The Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli duo looked back in great touch as India took on Australia in the third ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday evening.
Ahead of the ODI, Rohit was coming off a 73 (97) in Adelaide, but Kohli was coming into the match under a bit of pressure, having scored back-to-back ducks in the series.
Rohit went on to score a Player of the Match winning 121*(125), and Kohli finally got off the mark in the series with an unbeaten 74 (81) to see India through in the chase.
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As the former captains scored big runs to save India from a clean sweep in the final ODI of the tour, Mohammad Kaif made a big claim about the selectors waiting for their failures.
Mohammad Kaif claims the selectors want to see Rohit and Kohli fail
Their match-winning stand of 168*(170), to help India chase down 237 runs, was the first time since January 2020 that they took their partnership past the three-figure mark and their 19th in ODIs overall.
This big partnership came amidst all the speculation surrounding their futures in the Indian team, with the World Cup 2027 still over two years away.
READ MORE: List of milestones achieved by Rohit in the final match of the series at Sydney
"In the back of their mind, they know that people are waiting for them to fail. There are selectors and some media people. Ab to zidd bhi hai Virat Kohli ki, Rohit Sharma ki [now Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are stubborn]. Look at their face, they appeared focused but calm," said Kaif.
Interestingly, Rohit was stripped away from his ODI captaincy ahead of the tour despite being the Player of the Match for his 76(83) in the last ODI that India had played in the triumphant ICC Champions Trophy.
On the other hand, the 36-year-old was India's second-highest run-scorer in the same tournament behind Shreyas Iyer with 218 runs at an average of 54.50 and a century against Pakistan.
How did Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma perform in the Australia tour?
Amid the retirement talks, Rohit finished as the top run-getter in the series with 202 runs at an average of 101, while Kohli scored 74 runs in 3 innings.
| Player | Innings | Runs | Highest | Avg/SR | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 3 | 202 | 121* | 101.00/85.59 | 1/1 |
| Virat Kohli | 3 | 74 | 74* | 37.00/79.56 | 1/0 |
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