As soon as Hardik Pandya’s bottom edge raced past the minimal gap between the wicket-keeper and the man at short-third, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli broke into a wild celebration as the series was confirmed in India’s favor.  

It was Kohli’s six in the last over that brought India mighty close to the finishing line, but his dismissal on the next ball left the match hanging in the balance. Pandya missed the fourth ball but managed to send the ball to the boundary on the next to seal the victory.  

Both Rohit and Kohli were watching the game from the staircase beside the dressing room, and they were spotted hugging each other after India’s win. Having failed to win the Asia Cup, Rohit knew this was an important series, and losing it would have raised questions on the team and his captaincy. 

Moreover, their camaraderie seems to have united the fan clubs of both these cricketers. After Kohli got dismissed by Sams, Rohit came out of the dressing room and gave him a pat on the back. 

Kohli seems to have broken off from the lean patch, as he looked fluent for the major parts of his innings. He took an aggressive approach against Adam Zampa, and played the fast bowlers with each. He smashed three fours and four sixes for his 48-ball 63. Kohli was content with playing the second fiddle to Suryakumar Yadav when the latter was punishing the Australian bowlers with disdain. Later on, he said he simply followed the instruction of captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid.  

“When Surya started hitting it like that, I kinda looked at the dug-out as well. Rohit and Rahul bhai both told me, ‘you can just keep batting on’ because Surya was striking it that well. It was just about building a partnership,” said Kohli. 

The duo stitched a 104-run stand after India lost both their openers inside the first four overs. Kohli was in awe of Suryakumar’s ability to pick up the right shots at the right moments. He said, “He has the game to bat under any sort of situation and any condition. He has shown that already. He got a hundred in England, he batted beautifully in the Asia Cup.” 

Lead Image: BCCI