The emotional quotient will be at an all-time high with a lot of moistened eyes expected to witness an embattled Virat Kohli and his partner in many a fight Rohit Sharma playing what could be their last appearance on Australian soil in the third ODI, here on Saturday.
While Rohit Sharma has rightfully earned some breathing space with a fighting 73 off 97 balls albeit in a lost cause, Kohli’s back-to-back ducks, his first ever in international cricket, has definitely made his die-hard fans contemplate whether this is the beginning of the end.
Rohit first came here for the CB Series in 2007-08 while Kohli’s first tour with the senior team was in the 2011-12 season when he made an instant impact with a Test century at Adelaide.
With no ODI series in Australia in the next two years, it is impossible to think that the duo will again be seen Down Under in India blues. Whether Kohli, in particular, continues to play post Australia series is a matter of conjecture but the final ODI at the iconic SCG will be more than a mere “dead rubber”.
However at SCG, the fans would want those punchy cover drives to come out of the closet and a few of those on-drives and the inside-out lofted shot over extra cover from the modern-day legend.
The match is of consequence as the Gautam Gambhir-coached Indian team looks to avoid a 0-3 whitewash, which will certainly not look great although the ODI World Cup is a good two years away.
To make matters worse, in the last five ODIs between India and Australia at the SCG, the ‘Men in Blue’ have won only once. Skipper Shubman Gill and Kohli are both due for a big knock and Gambhir will expect both to fire in the final game.
1
No. of times Virat Kohli has been dismissed for a duck in two consecutive ODIs
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