RoKo rise again: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli shine as India crush Australia by 9 wickets in Sydney

It was a dead rubber — the final game of a three-match series played in the middle of the cricket calendar, with no real relevance. Nothing hinged on the outcome of this game. There was no prize money to scrap for, no trophy that would be locked away in some foreign office.

And yet the atmosphere at the Sydney Cricket Ground, one of the great stages for the game, was beyond electric. It was not the buzz of a big match; you can feel this before a World Cup knockout game or an India-Pakistan clash, where much more than sport happens on and off the field.

It was a rarity in modern sport, the power of anticipation. This series has been viewed through a RoKo lens, and you only had to look at the crowd in Sydney to understand why. Australia stuttered when they batted, losing wickets too regularly against India’s industrious bowling attack to put up a seriously challenging score on the board.


But, there were enough runs to allow the Indian innings to begin with the feeling of the contest being alive. And yet the crowd was cheering Indian runs, and when a wicket fell, the roar that rang around the stands was not to celebrate the bowler, but to signal the arrival of Virat Kohli at the crease.

Rohit Shama had scored a crisp halfcentury in Adelaide and in doing so had stamped his authority on the series.

But Kohli, coming off consecutive ducks, had something of a debt to pay. He owed it to himself to show that he could play his best game despite only competing in one format. Kohli, the man who set fitness and batting standards for a generation of Indian players, had to go out and do battle, to reassure himself that he was still there and to give his legion of fans the belief that those standards had not slipped.

The cheers that rang around the stands — a massive Indian and Indian-origin diaspora support played its voluble part — but they were also a collective hat-doff from a cricket-loving public. Australian fans have a strange relationship with tion’s top dogs. They will come hard at these players, taunt, troll, torment … but once their respect has been earned, they embrace these very opponents and cherish them.

Rohit played all the great shots, and, more than anything else, his 121 showed that all the work he put in, in terms of fitness and conditioning, had left him in a position to go the whole hog without pushing his physical limits.

Kohli was the compiler on the day, quite happily playing second fiddle to Rohit, but his role was vital. At no point did Kohli look like he would be dismissed, and in doing this, the morale of the Australian bowlers and fielders was genuinely dented.

The unbeaten 168-run partnership between Rohit and Kohli ensured India won comfortably, but to the Indian fan, it did something else. Coming into this series, there was a perception building that this was a situation where it was RoKo versus the selectors. Despite all assurances that due process had been followed and that all stakeholders had been consulted and considered, there were rumours that the pair of legends was being given a chance to have a farewell series. There was speculation, based on flights of fancy, about what the team management wanted, what the two players wanted, and even what the BCCI wanted.

At the end of the game, when Rohit and Kohli spoke to broadcasters, it was clear what the pair wanted: Rohit to feel bat on ball and win games, Kohli to make the most of his gifts and compete to dominate.

For the selectors, this box-ticking by Rohit and Kohli makes things easier, not trickier. India now have three ODIs each against South Africa and New Zealand in the immediate future. And Rohit and Kohli have picked themselves for these matches. The rope will always be short, so Kohli won’t want to get three ducks in a series of as many games, as the chance for redemption may take some time to come in an impatient environment.

But the decision on the future of Rohit and Kohli is no longer an existential one. As long as the two are batting as they are, Ajit Agarkar and company can put their feet up and worry about other things.

BRIEF SCORES Australia 236 in 46.4 overs (Renshaw 56, Marsh 41; Rana 4/39, Washington 2/44) lost to India 237/1 in 38.3 overs (Rohit 121*, Kohli 74*) by 9 wickets