Thank you to Australia: Rohit, Kohli ‘bid farewell’ to Australia with century stand
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli thanked Australia and its cricket fans following a vintage century stand in the third ODI against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, in what is most likely their final international match Down Under.
The pair put on their 19th century stand in ODIs with an unbroken partnership of 168 as India cruised to a nine-wicket victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Rohit finished on 121 not out, while Kohli was unbeaten on 74 at the other end.
Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Rohit said, “We always love coming here and playing here. Fond memories of 2008. Don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia. We enjoy our cricket no matter what accolades we achieve. We started afresh in Perth, that’s how I look at things.”
Kohli, meanwhile, was glad to break his streak of consecutive ducks, saying, “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. 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,” he said while reflecting on his partnership with Rohit.
“It all started in 2013 vs Australia, in the ODIs at home. We’ve loved coming to this country, played some of our best. You guys have been brilliant (to the crowd),” Kohli said reflecting on his time in Australia.
Rohit was subsequently named Player of the Series for his fifty in the second ODI and century in this game.
Published on Oct 25, 2025
