Road ahead for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they leave Australia with a bang

Road ahead for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they leave Australia with a bang (BCCI Photo)

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli started the ODI series in Australia poorly. Rohit rebounded with 73 and a marvellous unbeaten 121, while Kohli came back from the first consecutive ducks of his storied white-ball career to finish with a classy 74 not-out. Here, we look at the takeaways for India’s dynamic duo, who now head home.

Never write off the old warriors

Kohli, in particular, had been badly bruised by the failures in Perth and Adelaide. There was almost a look of resignation on his face as he walked off the Adelaide Oval, scene of some of his greatest batting feats. The expression on his face as he tapped and ran a single off the first ball he faced told a very different story. There was relief there, but also determination. He wasn’t going to go quietly, not in a country where even the locals grudgingly admitted that they wished he was one of their own.

As for Rohit, he had ridden out the storm on his way to a far-from-fluent 73 in Adelaide. Sydney was the celebration, when the full repertoire of strokes that once fetched him five centuries in a World Cup (2019) came out.

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Be wary of snap judgements

There were several hasty obituaries after Perth and Adelaide, with critics conveniently forgetting that India had by far the worst of the batting conditions in both games. The disconcerting bounce in Perth would have troubled most line-ups, while there was so much seam movement in Adelaide that Josh Hazlewood was unplayable. Rohit got a fine delivery in Perth and Kohli was beautifully set up by Xavier Bartlett in Adelaide, but they won’t be the first or last batters to be dismissed in such challenging conditions.

No substitute for game time

Rohit spent a week at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) outside Bengaluru in September, while Kohli was a regular in the indoor nets at Lord’s. But no matter how diligently you practise, there’s no substitute for time in the middle, especially against opponents of the quality of Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Rohit grew in stature with each innings, going from rust in Perth to guts in Adelaide and then the sweetest timing in Sydney. Kohli too looked more like himself by series end, with a patented checked straight drive and a sublime pull that bisected the fielders behind square a throwback to the glory years.

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Domestic cricket beckons?

For now, both men have just six ODIs – three each against South Africa and New Zealand – to look ahead to before the end of the Indian season. If the 2027 World Cup is to be a realistic aim, they need more time in the middle. Expect a cameo appearance or two for Mumbai (Rohit) and Delhi (Kohli), especially in the gap between the South Africa and New Zealand series.