Indian captain Rohit Sharma was given a warm farewell inside the dressing room after the ODI series against Australia. He scored a total of 202 runs in the three-match series, including a brilliant century in Sydney.
Even though many wondered if senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would continue to play ODIs, both showed their class in the final match. Rohit scored an unbeaten 121 off 125 balls, while Kohli made a solid 50. Their 168-run partnership helped India easily chase down 237 runs and win the last match by nine wickets.
After the match, Rohit was given the ‘Impact Player of the Series’ award in front of his teammates. The entire dressing room cheered and chanted “RoKo!”, a nickname for the Rohit-Kohli duo.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir praised Rohit’s innings and the team’s strong chase. “Rohit’s hundred was outstanding, and so was the partnership with Virat. What’s most important is how well we finished the chase,” said Gambhir.
He also praised Harshit Rana, who took his first-ever four-wicket haul in ODIs. Rana’s figures of 4/39 in 8.4 overs helped India restrict Australia to 236 after they had started strongly.
“The bowlers were excellent. From 63 for no loss to all out for 236 was a great effort. Harshit bowled beautifully. My message to him is—stay humble, stay grounded, and keep working hard. This is just the beginning,” Gambhir added.
After the series, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to India, while the rest of the team stayed in Australia for the upcoming five-match T20 series, starting Wednesday at Manuka Oval, Canberra.
