Sydney witnessed a truly historic day for Indian cricket as Rohit Sharma delivered a spectacular performance, smashing his 33rd ODI century and remaining unbeaten on 121 runs from 125 balls. His incredible knock led India to a dominant nine-wicket victory over Australia in the third ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, thus averting a series whitewash.
Image: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (Credit: BCCI)
Alongside the formidable Virat Kohli, who contributed a solid 74 not out from 81 balls, Rohit forged an unbroken 168-run partnership for the second wicket, sealing India’s impressive win.
This century was Rohit’s ninth against Australia, a remarkable achievement that saw him surpass Virat Kohli’s eight centuries against the Australians. With this milestone, Rohit now shares the record for the most ODI centuries against Australia with none other than the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. What makes this feat even more extraordinary is that Rohit reached this milestone in just 49 innings, significantly quicker than Tendulkar’s 70 innings and Kohli’s 51 innings against Australia.
Rohit also etched his name in history by becoming the visiting player with the most ODI hundreds in Australia, accumulating six centuries on Australian soil. This surpasses Kohli’s five centuries from 32 innings. Even the legendary Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara managed five centuries in Australia but took 49 innings to do so.
Overall, Rohit Sharma now boasts an impressive tally of 50 international centuries across all formats: 12 in Tests, 33 in ODIs, and five in T20Is.
The foundation for this memorable victory was expertly laid by the Indian bowlers. Despite Shubman Gill losing the toss and India being asked to field first, the team successfully restricted Australia to a modest total of 236 runs. Mohammed Siraj made an early breakthrough by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne in the first powerplay, while spinners Axar Patel and Washington Sundar maintained tight control over the scoring rate. Harshit Rana’s impactful spell of 4 wickets for 39 runs ultimately brought Australia’s innings to a close.
In response, India got off to a flying start, reaching 68 runs without loss within the first 10 overs. The seasoned duo of Rohit and Kohli then took command, treating fans to a batting masterclass at the SCG. Their performance was so dominant that it almost felt like a home ground for India. During his innings, Kohli registered his 75th ODI fifty and overtook Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs, further cementing his place in cricket history, while Rohit’s 33rd century reaffirmed his status among the game’s modern legends.
With an unbeaten 168-run partnership and securing victory with a remarkable 11.3 overs to spare, India celebrated not only a crucial win but also the historic individual achievements of its star batsmen.