Rohit Sharma chases Sachin Tendulkar's massive Australia record in ODI series finale in Sydney
Former India captain Rohit Sharma stormed back to form with a spirited knock of 73, after getting out cheaply in the opening game against Australia in the ongoing three-match ODI series. Rohit has now the opportunity to break the all-time Indian record in the series finale, held by Sachin Tendulkar.
It was the most unusual Rohit Sharma innings in the last three years, but probably the most important one as the former captain staked his claim to still be involved in the ODI setup for India, having retired from Tests and T20Is in the ongoing series against Australia. While Virat Kohli registered back-to-back ducks, Rohit recovered from a poor start in the opening game to labour his way to a gritty knock of 73, recovering from a tough early period when Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett and Mitchell Starc were breathing fire.
With that 73, Rohit got into the 1400s as far as his run-scoring was concerned in ODIs in Australia and the 38-year-old now has a real opportunity to break the India record for most runs by a player from the country in the format in Australia. Rohit (1,409) is 82 runs behind the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (1,491) and a big knock in Sydney will not only help the veteran strengthen his position in the batting order for the team, but might also pave the way for India avoiding a whitewash in the series, having lost the first two games.
Rohit was on 1,328 runs prior to the series, just a solitary run ahead of Kohli. While the former skipper has closed the gap between himself and Tendulkar, Kohli is yet to get off the mark in the series, recording successive ducks for the first time in his ODI career and hence, is still stuck on 1,327 runs in the format in Australia as of now.
Sydney hasn't been a happy hunting ground for India in ODIs, with the Men in Blue winning just five games out of the 22 players and will be keen to add one more in order to avoid a whitewash. Australia might not be at their full strength, having rested a couple of players for the series finale, and it might be an opportunity for India to get some momentum back before the T20Is.
Australia took a 2-0 unassailable lead, with the bowlers doing the heavy lifting but Sydney has historically been a belter.