India delivered an emphatic performance at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, securing a dominant nine-wicket win over Australia in the third One-Day International. This commanding victory was powered by magnificent unbeaten knocks from Rohit Sharma, who scored 121 runs, and Virat Kohli, who added 74 not out. For these two stalwarts, this match might well mark their final appearances on Australian soil. Despite Australia having already sealed the series with earlier wins in Adelaide and Perth, the Indian team confidently chased down their target of 237 with 69 balls to spare.
A highlight of the match was the phenomenal 168-run partnership between Rohit and Kohli. Given their respective retirements from Test and T20 cricket, this stellar collaboration could signify their farewell innings in Australia before the 2027 World Cup.
(Image: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli departing the field after their unbeaten innings in the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.)
Following India’s triumph, renowned Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, also the father-in-law of cricketer KL Rahul, took to social media to express his sentiments. He wrote, "It’s funny how quickly we forget…the records, the fights, the pride, the tears, the sacrifice. Two games and suddenly everyone’s a critic."
(Image: Suniel Shetty’s social media post celebrating Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s performances.)
He continued, "They heard the noise. They read the doubts. They stayed silent… And let the bat do the talking. Because legends like Rohit & Virat don’t have to prove a point — They are the point," concluding his message with powerful hashtags like #RespectTheGame, #LegendsNeverFade, and #WakeUpIndia.
India’s chase began confidently after Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted for Australia to bat first, with the hosts eventually being dismissed for 236 runs.
The opening partnership between Rohit and Shubman Gill quickly accumulated 69 runs before Josh Hazlewood managed to claim Gill’s wicket with a faint edge.
Rohit’s innings was a masterclass, featuring 13 fours and three sixes as he powered his way to his 33rd ODI century. Kohli, equally impressive, notched his 75th half-century in a nearly flawless batting display.
Reflecting on his time in Australia, Rohit, now 38, shared, "I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but it was fun all these years that we played here. You know, a lot of good memories, bad memories. But all in all, I’ll take the cricket that I played here."
Kohli added, "Going out there and having a situation is always something that brings the best out of me and when Rohit is batting it’s pretty easy to kind of rotate the strike, we know each other’s game pretty well. We want to say thank you, we’ve loved coming to this country. We’ve played some of our best cricket here so thank you very much."
Australia’s innings had a promising start, reaching 183-3, but a dramatic collapse saw them lose their final seven wickets for just 53 runs.
Harshit Rana was the standout bowler for India, securing impressive figures of 4-39, while Matt Renshaw top-scored for Australia with 56 runs.
Travis Head reached a significant milestone of 3,000 ODI runs during his innings of 29 before being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj.
Mitchell Marsh contributed 41 runs before Axar Patel bowled him, and Matt Short added 30 runs before Washington Sundar sent him back to the pavilion.
Australia’s collapse was notably triggered by a spectacular catch from Shreyas Iyer, which led to the dismissal of Alex Carey for 24.
Renshaw celebrated his maiden ODI fifty but was later trapped lbw by Sundar. This was followed by quick dismissals of Mitchell Owen and Mitchell Starc, further exacerbating Australia’s woes.
Despite Cooper Connolly’s late contribution of 23 runs, it was insufficient to rescue Australia’s innings, as they were eventually bowled out for a below-par total.