Rohit, Virat shines as India beat Australia to end series 2-1

Rohit Sharma struck his 50th international hundred and Virat Kohli played a timebending knock in possibly their last outing in Australia propelling India to a consolation ninewicket victory in the third ODI here on SaturdayAfter Harshit Ranaled 439 bowlers restricted Australia to a belowpar 236 Rohit 121 not out and Kohli 74 not out stitched a 168run alliance in just 170 balls to take India to 2371 in 383 oversAustralia win series 21Australia won the threematch series 21 but Rohit and Kohli gave the ecstatic Sydney crowd precisely what they wanted while unfurling archetypal innings and in the process saved the team from an embarrassing whitewashPlayer of the Match and Player of the Series Rohit was all fluency and wholehearted shotmaking and Kohli resembled a mathematician solving a puzzle with meticulousnessShubman GillOnce skipper Shubman Gill returned to the hut after helping his senior partner to milk 69 runs for the opening wicket Rohit took over the chase in his inimitable manner and went on to produce his 33rd ODI centuryRohit brought up his fifty in 63 balls and the next 50 flowed in 42 balls as he batted with panache and aggression in equal measureGill hailed Rohit and Kohli for the knocks ldquoWe had a nearperfect game The chase was pleasing to see Rohit and Kohli have done it for so many years and it was a delight to watchrdquo said GillRoKorsquos tight embraceKohli who made his fifty off 56 balls soon had his old mate in a tight embrace as Rohit went past his 33rd ODI hundred in 105 balls A few overs later Kohli slammed Nathan Ellis for a four to take the match to its logical conclusion and the Australian players crowded around him and Rohit to congratulate themPacer Harshit Rana celebrates an Australian wicket during his 439 in Sydney on Saturday PICGetty ImagesAustralian skipper Mitchell Marsh applauded Rohit and Kohli but rued the fact that they could not convert a good platform of 1953 with around 15 overs remaining ldquoWersquove seen Rohit and Virat do that over 10 years against lots of teamsrdquo said MarshlsquoNo matter what accolades wersquove achieved we still enjoy our cricketrsquoRohit Sharma has always cherished playing in Australia and after a challenging ODI series against the old rivals the former captain on Saturday admitted that there might not be another trip for him and Virat Kohli to their cricketing heartlandldquoAlways love coming here and playing here Fond memories of 2008 Irsquom not sure if wersquoll be coming back to Australia but we enjoy our cricket no matter what accolades we gave achieved ni the pastrdquo Rohit said after being named Player of the Match and Player of the SeriesRohit hit a magnificent 121 while Kohli produced a 74run knock in Indiarsquos victory Kohli echoed the sentiment ldquoYou might have played international cricket for a long time but the game teaches you something at every stage Situations in the middle bring out the best in merdquo he saidShreyas Iyer to be out of action for minimum 3 weeksIndiarsquos new ODI vicecaptain Shreyas Iyer might be forced to remain out of action for minimum three weeks if not more after he sustained a ldquojerkrdquo on his left rib cage while taking Alex Careyrsquos catch off Harshit Ranarsquos bowling during the third ODI in Sydney on Saturday As of now it canrsquot be ascertained whether he will be fit in time for Indiarsquos first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi on November 30Brief scoresAustralia 236 all out in 464 overs M Renshaw 56 M Marsh 41 M Short 30 H Rana 439 W Sundar 244 lost to India 2371 in 383 overs R Sharma 121 V Kohli 74 J Hazlewood 123 by 9 wickets202Total runs scored by Rohit Sharma in the threematch ODI series vs Australia the most by any player 1010050No of international centuries scored by Rohit Sharma 33 in ODIs five in T20Is and 12 in Tests14255Total number of runs scored by Virat Kohli surpassing Kumar Sangakkara 14234 to become the secondhighest runscorer in ODIs12No of 150plus run stands between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in ODIs mdash the jointmost with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav GangulyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever