"Seeing the ball fly off their bats...": Gill lauds Rohit-Virat partnership in Sydney win

Sydney [Australia], October 25 (ANI): Indian skipper Shubman Gill hailed the veteran batting duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, saying that watching the ball "fly off their bats" reflected how great a touch they are in.

Rohit, Virat rolled back the clock after shaking off some rustiness and a lack of rhythm, as they put on an unbeaten 168-run partnership in India's successful chase of 237 runs in the Sydney ODI. India won by nine wickets. Both batters unleashed some of their trademark shots in what could be their final outing in Australia, considering that the ODI team is not scheduled for another Aussie tour on the road to the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.

"It's a treat to watch both of them, especially when they are batting like that and seeing the ball fly off their bats and just hearing the sound that comes off their bat is something that tells you how good of a nick they are both in," Gill said in a the post match presentation.

"Watching them from outside, having that partnership for them and taking the team through is something that we often talk about in team meetings, that whoever is set...even in the last match we spoke about, we got two-three good partnerships, but none of the batsmen could really play a longer inning, so I think they both spoke about whoever is set they should take the team through and they are walking the talk, so it is a great bonus for us," he added.

Following this series, Team India will play a three-match ODI series against South Africa from November 30. Another home ODI series against New Zealand will take place in January. The Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting from December 24 onwards, could give them some extra game time between these two ODI series.

"I think till now there is no talk about this, but I think after the South Africa series, there will be a gap, there will be a gap till the New Zealand series, so I think then we will see how to keep the players in touch, so then I think a decision will be taken," Gill said, when asked about keeping the two superstar batters in touch and complete rhythm.

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 that 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. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)