The veteran duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli turned back the clock with an exceptional 168-run stand for the second wicket in the third ODI against Australia on Saturday. The classic Ro-Ko performance settled the nerves of fans all across the globe, as questions over their place in the Indian team seemingly calmed. Speaking to the Indian team in the dressing room after the game, head coach Gautam Gambhir had some important messages to deliver to the batting unit.
Gambhir started off by hailing the partnership between openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, who put on a 69-run stand for the first wicket. Gambhir called the stand ‘very important’ in the chase of 237 runs. The head coach then shifted his focus to the unbeaten partnership of 168 runs between Rohit and Kohli, saying it was ‘outstanding as well’.
“With the bat, I thought the partnership between Shubman and Rohit was very, very important when it was 60 for no loss. And then the partnership between Rohit and Virat was again outstanding. And special mention to another 100 [century], outstanding. The most important thing was that you finished it off, and Virat as well,” he said in a video shared by the BCCI.
Gambhir expressed his delight at the fact that both Rohit and Kohli finished off the chase while remaining unbeaten. He said: “I thought that is something which was very important from the team’s point of view as well, and how clinical we can be in these chases, and we were very good.”
After the game, Rohit admitted that this was probably the last Australia outing for both Kohli and Rohit, who are nearing the end of their international careers. With the South Africa assignment at home next for the duo, the focus remains on retaining match fitness that they gained in Australia.
While Rohit was named the Player of the Series for his performances in the three matches, Kohli was relieved to have put some runs under his belt after two ducks in the first two games.