Sydney : The iconic “Ro-Ko” pair — Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli — rescued India from a whitewash defeat and restored pride in the final ODI of the series on Saturday. Australia, which had never whitewashed India in an ODI series, missed out on that historic milestone once again. The Ro-Ko duo ensured that Australia stayed short of that rare feat, though the hosts still clinched the series 2–1.
The legendary partnership between 38-year-old Rohit Sharma (121* off 125 balls, 159 minutes, 3 sixes, 13 fours) and 37-year-old Virat Kohli (74* off 81 balls, 111 minutes, 7 fours) guided India to victory with an unbeaten 168-run stand in 170 balls for the second wicket. Their composed innings shut down critics who were hinting at retirement.
Chasing a modest target of 237 runs, India reached it comfortably in 38.3 overs, losing only opener Shubman Gill (24 off 26 balls, 47 minutes, 1 six, 2 fours). India thus sealed a memorable win by nine wickets with 69 balls remaining.
Possibly their last match in Australia?
This might well have been the last Australian tour for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli — and they played in trademark style to prevent a series sweep. Rohit looked effortless, striking fluently and smartly rotating strike. Kohli, too, displayed perfect game awareness, complementing Rohit brilliantly and making the chase look easy.
Australia’s spin attack appeared weak compared to India’s, and both veterans capitalized on it. Among seven Australian bowlers used, only Josh Hazlewood managed to take a wicket. Lead spinner Adam Zampa went wicketless, conceding 50 runs in his 10 overs.
Harshit takes four, Kuldeep gets one
Earlier, Australia chose to bat after winning the toss and scored 236 runs in 50 overs. Matt Renshaw top-scored with 56, while skipper Mitchell Marsh contributed 41. However, the hosts collapsed, losing their last seven wickets for just 53 runs. At one stage, they were 183/3 in the 34th over and were eventually bowled out for 236 in 46.4 overs.
Pacer Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets, generating good pace and bounce on the new Sydney pitch. Washington Sundar claimed two wickets. Kuldeep Yadav (10–0–50–1), playing his first match of the series in place of Nitish Reddy, was a bit expensive but dismissed Mitchell Starc. Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna (who replaced Arshdeep Singh), and Mohammed Siraj took one wicket each.
Spectacular catches by Virat and Shreyas
Virat Kohli pulled off a stunning catch at backward point to dismiss Matthew Short (30) off Washington Sundar’s bowling. Kohli dived low, lost balance, and fell backward — but held on brilliantly.
Later, Shreyas Iyer took a magnificent diving catch at backward point to send back Alex Carey (24) off Harshit Rana’s bowling. Iyer injured his ribs while completing that catch but showed great athleticism.
Both awards for Rohit Sharma; most wickets for Harshit Rana
Rohit Sharma recorded his 50th international century, which includes 33 in ODIs, 12 in Tests, and 5 in T20Is. He received both major awards — Player of the Match for his unbeaten 121 and Player of the Series for scoring 202 runs across the three games.
Pacer Harshit Rana finished as the highest wicket-taker of the series with six wickets, followed by Washington Sundar (five wickets) and Adam Zampa (four wickets).
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