India clinched a resounding nine-wicket victory against Australia in the third one-day international held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Spearheading the chase were Rohit Sharma, who scored an magnificent 121 not out, and Virat Kohli, who added a stylish 74 not out. This impressive performance could mark their final ODI appearances on Australian soil.
The visitors successfully chased down Australia’s target of 237 with 69 balls to spare, even though Australia had already secured the series with earlier wins in Adelaide and Perth. The match highlighted a sensational 168-run partnership between Rohit and Kohli, both of whom have previously retired from Test and T20 formats, adding weight to the possibility that this might be their last innings in Australia before the 2027 World Cup.
Following India’s triumph, renowned Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, who is also the father-in-law of fellow cricketer KL Rahul, took to social media to share his thoughts: “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.”
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.” His post was accompanied by hashtags such as #RespectTheGame #LegendsNeverFade #WakeUpIndia.
India’s chase started with immense confidence after Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s captain, won the toss and opted to bat first. Australia was eventually bowled out for 236 runs. The opening partnership between Rohit and Shubman Gill contributed 69 runs before Josh Hazlewood dismissed Gill with a faint edge.
Rohit’s magnificent innings, featuring 13 fours and three sixes, led to his 33rd ODI century, while Kohli showcased his class with his 75th half-century in a nearly flawless batting display.
Addressing the media after the match, Rohit, now 38, reflected on his journey: “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 echoed similar sentiments: “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.”
Earlier in the day, Australia’s innings started promisingly, reaching 183-3, but suffered a dramatic collapse, losing their final seven wickets for just 53 runs. Harshit Rana was the star bowler for India, claiming impressive figures of 4-39, while Matt Renshaw top-scored for Australia with 56 runs.
Travis Head achieved a personal milestone of 3,000 ODI runs during his innings of 29 before being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj. Mitchell Marsh added 41 runs before Axar Patel bowled him out, and Matt Short contributed 30 before falling to Washington Sundar.
A crucial moment in Australia’s collapse was a spectacular catch by Shreyas Iyer, which sent Alex Carey back to the pavilion for 24 runs. Renshaw, despite hitting his maiden ODI fifty, was later trapped lbw by Sundar. This was quickly followed by the dismissals of Mitchell Owen and Mitchell Starc. Cooper Connolly’s late contribution of 23 runs was insufficient to salvage Australia’s innings, as they were bowled out for a below-par total.