Sydney [Australia], October 25 : Despite the series loss, the superstar batting duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli delivered a batting spectacle to remember for the Indian fans, as they put on a 168-run partnership during the win at the third Sydney ODI, levelling with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly for the joint-most partnerships of 150-plus runs in ODIs.
After a match or two of rustiness, the beloved 'Ro-Ko' returned to their destructive best, stitching a 168-run stand while chasing 237 runs against Australia during the third ODI at Sydney. While India lost the series, fans in Sydney got their money's worth with a win and what could be the final Rohit-Virat partnership on Australian soil.
This is their 12th partnership of 150 runs or more, levelling with Tendulkar and Ganguly.
The pair of Rohit-Virat, now having 19 partnerships of 100 or more runs in ODIs, have now leapfrogged over Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (18 such partnerships in 117 innings) for the third-highest partnerships of 100 or more runs in ODIs, achieving their 19 partnerships in 101 innings. At the top is the pair of Sachin and Ganguly, with 26 such stands in 176 innings, followed by Sri Lanka's pair of Tilakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara (20 partnerships of 100 runs or more in 108 matches).
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. A 61-run stand between skipper Mitchell Marsh (41 in 50 balls, with five fours and a six) and Travis Head (29 in 25 balls, with six fours) started off things for Australia.
Matt Short contributed a knock of 30 in 41 balls, with two fours, and a 59-run stand between Matt Renshaw (56 in 58 balls, with two fours) and Alex Carey (24 in 37 balls, with a four) took the Aussies to 183/3. But from there, Aussies collapsed to 236 all out in 46.4 overs, with Harshit Rana (4/39 in 8.4 overs), Washington Sundar (2/44) being the pick of the bowlers and Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav getting one each.
In the 237 run-chase, India was off to a solid start with a 69-run opening stand between Shubman Gill (24 in 26 balls, with two fours and a six). From there, something happened fans had waited for all series, as Rohit Sharma (121* in 125 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes) and Virat Kohli (74* in 81 balls, with seven fours) put on an unbeaten 168-run partnership and achieved several milestones, winning the match with nine wickets still in hand.
Rohit won the 'Player of the Match' award and the 'Player of the Series' award as well for top-scoring in the series with 202 runs, including a century and a fifty each.
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