Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli headline India's crushing win in SCG
Team India sealed an emphatic win against Australia to close the ODI series on a blazing note as Sydney witnessed the might of an iconic stand between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli firsthand. After the bowlers secured early momentum, the Indian stalwart duo dished out a masterclass to leave Australia rattled in Sydney.
Winning the toss, Australia opted to bat first. Mitchell Marsh (41) and Travis Head (29) got off to a solid start. The opening pair of Head and Marsh added 61 runs before Mohammed Siraj got the better of Head. Axar Patel removed Marsh in quick succession too, as India sniffed out a slender window of opportunity.
Despite Matt Short (30) putting up a valiant stand, Washington Sundar removed him before he could flip his start into a big one. Alex Carey (24) and Matt Renshaw (56) looked as the duo added 59 runs for the fourth wicket and the way they were going about their business, chances were high that Australia had 300 in sight.
That is when the unthinkable happened as Alex Carey fell to Harshit Rana, opening the floodgates for India. From 183/3, Australia were bundled out within 236. A late collapse enforced by the Indian bowlers exposed the skeleton of the Aussie batting unit.
Harshit Rana was the pick of the lot claiming a four-fer while he had support from the others. Cooper Connolly (23) and Nathan Ellis (16) were the last straws of resistance but that didn’t dampen the Indian spirits.
Shooting down 237, India hunkered down to business with intensity. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill (24) got off to a fiery start. The duo added 69 runs in the first 11 overs before Josh Hazlewood could get the only wicket of the evening. After that, it was the Rohit-Kohli show.
Rohit Sharma hammered his 33rd century in ODIs, leading the charge while Virat Kohli was at his dominating best at the other end. Sharma and Kohli added 168 runs for the second wicket as India walked away with the bragging rights with seven wickets and 11.3 overs to spare. Sharma stayed unbeaten for 121 from 125 balls while Virat Kohli smashed 74 from 81 deliveries. Rohit won both the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series awards.
