The second-biggest roar of the night at the SCG came when Indian great Virat Kohli got off the mark with a single in what is likely to be his final match on Australian soil.
After consecutive ducks in Perth and Adelaide, arguably the greatest ODI batsman of all time was given a rock star reception as he nudged a run into the leg side and celebrated with a tongue-in-cheek fist pump.
Oh what a night: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli led India to a nine-wicket win at the SCG.Credit: AP
Just over an hour later, the loudest cheer of all was again for Kohli (74 from 81), who alongside century-maker Rohit Sharma (121 from 125), helped steer India to a dominant victory with an unbeaten 168-run partnership that got them to a target of 237 with 69 balls to spare and nine wickets in the bank.
Australia, already assured of a series win, were completely outclassed after being dismissed for 236 in 46.4 overs. A crowd of 40,580 – mostly Indian fans – watched in awe as Rohit and Kohli wound back the clock with two clinical innings after the early loss of Shubman Gill (24 from 26) in the 11th over.
In the previous nine ODIs at the SCG, the team batting first had won. Rohit and Kohli had other ideas as they worked the gaps, ran hard and kept risk to a minimum with just three sixes between them.
Earlier this year, the SCG was not a happy place for the pair. Rohit pulled out of the final match of the Border-Gavaskar series after a lean run with the bat, while Kohli didn’t play another Test after being dismissed for 17 and six by Scott Boland on both occasions. India lost the Test and surrendered the series 3-1.
On Saturday evening, they batted with freedom and showed the class that has made them such formidable white ball batsmen for well over a decade. Matt Renshaw (56 from 58) was the pick of Australia’s top six, who all made scores of 23 or more but failed to go big.
At 3-183 in the 34th over, Australia were poised for a total close to 300, before losing 7-53 and being bowled out with 20 balls remaining.
