India secured a resounding victory in the third ODI against Australia, but lost the series 1-2. Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 121 in Sydney helped the team easily chase down a target of 237.
Virat Kohli also scored an unbeaten 74. Together, they shared a 168-run partnership, leading India to a 9-wicket victory.
Despite the defeat, Rohit praised the team’s young players, especially Harshit Rana.
Rohit-Virat Pair Showed Strength
Rohit said about his innings, “I enjoy playing in Australia in general. Today was the perfect day again to get a big one and get the team through. The bowlers did a fantastic job of restricting them first up.”
He explained that the new ball was challenging initially, but he wanted to bat deep to ensure victory. His partnership with Virat was the first to exceed 100 runs in a long time.
Rohit said, “Yeah, a fantastic partnership. After a long time, I think we haven’t had a 100-run partnership in a long time. It was good for the team.”
Virat and Rohit talked a lot and played the game intelligently. Rohit said that experience helped them understand when to act.
This victory showed the strength of the Indian team, even though they lost the series.
Harshit Rana wins hearts
Rohit praised young fast bowler Harshit Rana.
He said, “Unfortunately, we couldn’t win the series, but I think it’s still a very relatively young team. A lot of the guys haven’t been here, playing white-ball cricket. So, we can take a lot of positives from here, especially Harshit Rana, who’s been playing white-ball cricket for the first time in Australia.
The way he bowled in both the games, Perth was obviously a shortened game, but looking at how he bowled in Adelaide and also here, it was a fantastic effort from him.”
Harsit bowled brilliantly in his first ODI in Australia and impressed everyone.
Rohit described Australia as a tough team. He said, “They are a tough opposition. We’ve seen that over the years, how they play their cricket, they really enjoy being out there in the middle. They never let anything come to you easy.” India’s victory and the performance of young players like Harshit have raised hopes of further improvement in ODI cricket in the future.
India is now ready for the challenges ahead. This combination of senior players like Rohit and Virat and new faces like Harshit will further strengthen Indian cricket.
