Rohit Sharma Felicitated in Dressing Room
Rohit Sharma amassed 202 runs in the three-match series against Australia, featuring a brilliant century at Sydney.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir refrained from confirming whether Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would feature in India’s plans for the ODI World Cup two years later. Both senior batters had been focusing on a single format and hadn’t played competitive cricket since June. However, on Saturday in Sydney, they reminded everyone of their class. Rohit smashed a century, and Kohli added a fluent fifty as the duo stitched a record 168-run partnership, guiding India to a commanding nine-wicket win in the third ODI against Australia at the SCG.
Rohit Sharma emerged as the standout performer of the series. After a low score of just eight runs in the opener at Perth, he made a strong comeback with a fighting 73 in Adelaide, though it came in a losing effort. In Sydney, however, Rohit was at his vintage best - smashing an unbeaten 121 off 125 balls, decorated with 13 fours and 3 sixes - leading India to chase down 237 with over 11 overs remaining.
Gambhir’s Message After India’s Strong Finish
Gautam Gambhir was full of admiration after the match, and his reaction said it all when Rohit was honoured with the ‘Impact Player of the Series’ award. As Rohit received the trophy, the dressing room erupted with chants of “RoKo!” - the popular nickname fans use for the Rohit-Kohli duo.
“With the bat, the partnership between Shubman and Rohit was crucial, and the one between Rohit and Virat was exceptional,” said Gambhir. “A special mention to Rohit for scoring another brilliant hundred. Outstanding effort - and the best part was finishing the game alongside Virat. From the team’s perspective, the key takeaway is how clinical we were in our chase, and we executed that perfectly.”
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli departed from the Indian camp on Sunday to return home, while the rest of the squad remained in Australia for the upcoming five-match T20I series, set to begin on Wednesday at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Gambhir also lauded Harshit Rana for his impressive performance, as the young pacer bagged his maiden four-wicket haul in ODI cricket. After two quiet outings, Rana hit his stride in Sydney, displaying excellent pace, control, and accuracy to finish with figures of 4/39 in 8.4 overs, helping bowl out Australia for 236.
“I thought the bowlers were exceptional,” said Gambhir. “After the kind of start Australia had - 63 for no loss in 10 overs - to pull them back and restrict them to 237 was an outstanding effort. A special mention to Harshit for his brilliant spell. My only message is - stay humble, stay grounded, and keep working hard. This is just the beginning, not the end.”