Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma share emotional speech before bidding farewell to Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Virat Kohli shrugged off his twin ducks against Australia with an unbeaten 74-run knock in the third ODI of the three-match series at the SCG. The legendary Indian batter forged a monumental 168*-run partnership with centurion Rohit Sharma to chase down Australia’s 236-run total with nine wickets and 11.3 overs to spare.
After the match, an emotional Virat Kohli reflected on his latest performance and described his experience of batting with fellow senior pro Rohit Sharma.
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Kohli Revisits 2013 Memories with Rohit
While speaking after the match, Virat Kohli expressed his satisfaction at getting back into runs for Team India. The seasoned pro described the challenges he faced this series and claimed that the run-chase situation in the third ODI brought out the “best” in him. He said:
“Good to be out of the pond. The game shows you something even at this stage. It’s so challenging when things aren’t going your way. Situations in the middle get the best out of me.”
Virat Kohli also praised his longtime teammate and legendary opener Rohit Sharma, saying that he is glad they managed to finish the game for India. Kohli also got a bit nostalgic in his speech, as he revisited his earlier memories of batting alongside Rohit Sharma in ODI matches against Australia, dating back to the iconic 2013 series in India.
“Easy to bat with Rohit, glad it was a match-finishing stand. From early on, we understood the game well. That’s how you become successful. Even back in the day, we thought we could take games away from the opposition. It all started in 2013 vs Australia, in the ODIs at home. They also know that games are sealed if we batted 20 overs together,” Kohli added.
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Kohli also admired the SCG crowd and said that he loves coming out and playing in Australia. “We’ve loved coming to this country, played some of our best. You guys have been brilliant,” he said to the crowd.
Concluding the three-match ODI series on a high note, Virat Kohli will now travel back home as India’s tour moves into the T20I leg, starting from October 29 in Canberra.
Rohit Sharma, awarded both Player of the Match and Player of the Series, reflected on the conditions and the young side’s learning process. “You expect tough conditions in Australia. Quality bowlers. Gotta understand things and try your best. Haven’t played for a long time, good prep. Slightly confident coming in. We couldn’t win the series – will still take a lot of positives. I love playing in Australia in general. I’ve had a decent memory in SCG – great pitch, ground and crowd. I love doing what I do and hope to continue to do that. Always love coming here and playing here. Fond memories of 2008. Don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia,” Rohit concluded.
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