 "Shubman Gill says 'delight to watch' Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at their best, praises India for 'near-perfect game'")
Captain Shubman Gill said it was a “delight to watch” Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli operate at their best while hailing the Indian team for a “near perfect game” after the Men in Blue thrashed Australia by 9 wickets in Sydney to collect a consolation victory.
Rohit and Kohli forged an unbroken 168-run partnership for the second wicket to help the Indians chase down the 237-run target set by the Mitchell Marsh-led Australian team in a canter with more than 11 overs to spare. While Rohit followed up a cautious 73 in Adelaide with an unbeaten 121 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Kohli bounced back from consecutive ducks to score 74 not out – which included the winning boundary.
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“We had a near-perfect game. Pulled things back in the middle overs. Chase was pleasing to see. Our spinners contained in the middle and pacers took key wickets. Harshit’s bowled fast in the middle overs, we need that quality. Rohit, Kohli have done it for so many years. Delight to watch. Special win on a special ground,” Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony after registering his maiden win as India ODI captain.
India flex their muscle with all-round display in Sydney
Both Rohit and Kohli showed positive intent from the very outset of their innings and were in a lot more control with respect to their shots. They looked a bit rusty earlier in the series, especially in the tour opener in Perth on Sunday – which was their first appearance in an Indian kit in seven months – but it did not take the two veterans long to get back into their groove.
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And before the Ro-Ko’s clinical chase, India had produced their best bowling performance of the series so far by bowling Australia out for 236 after Marsh won yet another toss and opted to bat. Under-fire pacer Harshit Rana led the way with a haul of 4/39, silencing his critics who accused head coach Gautam Gambhir of favouritism with his best bowling performance for the Men in Blue.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar, meanwhile, was once again among the wickets as he registered figures of 2/44 – getting the key wickets of Matt Renshaw (56) and Matthew Short (30), the former top-scoring for the hosts.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe victory, however, was a mere consolation for Gill and Co as they ensured defending ODI world champions Australia did not sweep the series after winning the first two matches in Perth (7 wickets) and Adelaide (3 wickets).
The spotlight now shifts to the five-match T20I series that gets underway on Wednesday, 29 October in Canberra with Suryakumar Yadav continuing to lead India in the shortest format. Rohit and Kohli, meanwhile, will next be seen in action in the three-match ODI series against South Africa at home that takes place between 30 November and 6 December.
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