Key events
India win by nine wickets, with 11.3 overs to spare
Geoff Lemon
That, in anyone’s language, is a belting. India’s spinners controlled the tempo of Australia’s innings, with Kuldeep joining Axar and Washington. All took wickets, all went for fewer than five an over in the process. That was after a good start from Siraj, then it was Harshit Rana who stamped his influence on the middle of the innings, knocking off Carey, Connolly, and Owen.
India took some time to get started, with Rohit careful against Starc and Hazlewood, but Gill was the only wicket to fall, out to the latter. Neither of Australia’s strike bowlers came back to finish their allotment later, which was odd, given how dominant the batting partnership was. It looked like the Australians were happy to put the cue in the rack when it came to looking after the Ashes bowlers.
Rohit and Kohli join for a TV interview after the game, which is unusual in itself, and speak about how much they’ve enjoyed playing in Sydney over the years, and their thanks for the crowd’s support. If they do make it to the World Cup in 2027, you wouldn’t rule out CA and the BCCI sneaking in another series here somehow, but it’s not on the schedule at this stage, so this is probably their Australian farewell. Unless they want to pack up the IPL and join Ashwin in the Big Bash? Who wouldn’t?
That’s it for today. There’s a T20 series to follow, but not Kohli or Rohit there, and some of Australia’s guns will miss that too. On we go. Farewell.
38.3 overs: India 237-1 (Sharma 121, Kohli 74) And that is that! India do it with a leg in the air, cruising past Australia’s total one wicket down, in a valedictory lap in Australia for these two. Consolation win, India lose the series, but they get this one tonight. A couple of singles from Ellis, then Kohli plays the uppercut! Sees the short ball coming at him, stands his ground, sways his body away, and gets bat up and under that ball to send it very fine for four. Great control, and that’s the game.
38th over: India 231-1 (Sharma 120, Kohli 69) If Short’s second over was messier, his third has burned down the house. Rohit has prospered on the slog sweep today, and he does so twice more, the first behind square, not smashed but timed, the top edge is involved but that’s the deliberate version, choosing elevation. The second gets more elevation, in fact, but drops short by the end, one bounce.
37th over: India 219-1 (Sharma 109, Kohli 68) Decides to have an adventure, does Kohli, and sallies down the pitch to smack Ellis over mid off, but doesn’t get it cleanly. Skims it along the grass to the fielder instead. Next ball Rohit turns down a sharp run. Rather a contrast still between these two, in that regard. Finally Kohli gets his run, this time into the leg side. Rohit on strike, pull shot, top edge, but the Australian fielders have clocked off. Ellis doesn’t run back, Hazlewood doesn’t run up from mid on, and in the end the ball lands safely between them. Kohli gets strike and ends the over with a classic Kohli flick through midwicket for four. It rolls gently, has no right to beat a fielder, but its placement is so perfect that it does.
36th over: India 213-1 (Sharma 108, Kohli 63) Short continues, and if his first over was tidy, his second one needs to clean up its room. Starts with a wide, Kohli pushes through cover, then Rohit absolutely belts a slog sweep, and we get a Boundary Line CSI replay to confirm that it has indeed bounced on the grass just as it made contact with the rope. Four, not six. A few singles, eight from the over. and 24 left to win.
35th over: India 205-1 (Sharma 103, Kohli 61) Zampa hunting for something. Tight line on the pads, looking to skid one on perhaps. Rohit gets a run straight, Kohli one off the pads. Looks like they’ve decided to see off Zampa in his final over. His last ball does indeed skid on at leg stump, Rohit having to go back and stab at it for an inside edge to avoid an appeal for leg before.
34th over: India 203-1 (Sharma 102, Kohli 60) Matt Short comes on for a bowl, and starts sedately, even beats Rohit’s outside edge with one that drifts away a touch. Rohit is out of his ground but stretches that back to into safety. Three singles from the over.
Century! Rohit Sharma 100 from 105 balls
33rd over: India 200-1 (Sharma 100, Kohli 59) Zampa carries on. Rohit nicks him! But through an empty slip. Takes two runs, then trades singles. Has strike on 99… gaps everywhere, why not bring the field up? But they don’t, and after not getting it on the first attempt, he eases a drive to long off on the second. He’s found his groove tonight, and he’s purred to a hundred.
37 runs to win, and Kohli needs 41 for a hundred, so he could get it if he scored every remaining run and finished with a six… So no. It will only be one of India’s big pair getting a ton tonight, but the other can still finish with a juicy not out. That’s drinks.
32nd over: India 195-1 (Sharma 96, Kohli 58) There’s the run we’ve been (I’ve been) waiting for – a simple single off Connolly, and Kohli goes to second spot on tbe all-time ODI runs list, passing Kumar Sangakarra’s 14,234. Crazy numbers, especially considering that Kohli did not play in the peak ODI era in terms of volume. He and Rohit are in the top 10 for runs with vastly fewer matches played than the other eight.
Rohit gets strike and sweeps another four with immense power, all along the ground, then Connolly goes from too straight to too wide, and Kohli laces the cut shot for four!
31st over: India 184-1 (Sharma 90, Kohli 53) In such control, and now close to a hundred, Rohit eases back in this over. Doesn’t need to take a risk against Zampa, so he blocks a few, tries a push through cover, gets a run from the second attempt.
53 to get.
30th over: India 183-1 (Sharma 89, Kohli 53) Rohit rolls on, sweeping Connolly away for four. He’s just not the finished article with the ball, is Connolly, so bowling at this level is an ask too much. Not that any of the specialist bowlers have fared better tonight.
29th over: India 178-1 (Sharma 84, Kohli 53) Rohit goes galloping on: the leg-side smack off Zampa last over, this over a pure caress through the covers. He is on one tonight. Did anyone say they were finished? (We all wondered it.) It looks easy when it’s working though. Hundred partnership up, their 19th, which puts them third on the all-time list. The only ones are now are Dilshan with Sanga, and Sachin with Ganguly.
Half century! Virat Kohli 50 from 56 balls
28th over: India 171-1 (Sharma 78, Kohli 52) Takes a two, then a single to raise his half century. Absurdly, his 75th in ODI cricket, along with the 51 tons. Cooper Connolly the bowler. Talk about a mismatch of experience.
27th over: India 165-1 (Sharma 77, Kohli 47) Smacked by Rohit first ball! Zampa floats one down and the former Indian skipper loves the slog sweep. Gets under it and belts it over the fence over midwicket. Zampa gets through the rest of the over tidily but INdia are strolling this.
James Wallace
26th over: India 157-1 (Sharma 70, Kohli 46) Kohli plays his trademark swivel pull for four off Ellis and Sharma follows up with a carve over midwicket for another boundary!
Geoff Lemon is in the house and is going to take over, this match appears to only be heading one way. All yours Geoff!
26th over: India 157-1 (Sharma 70, Kohli 46) Greetings all. Halfway mark, Geoff Lemon taking over from James Wallace, while Kohli and Rohit go short for shot. That’s not supposed to be a direct comparison. Kohli picks plays a vintage pull shot from Ellis, lovely timing for four, then Rohit produces that a wristy flick of his that flies over midwicket for another one. A single every other ball, a dozen from the over.
25th over: India 145-1 (Sharma 64, Kohli 40) Zampa scuds through another over, four singles pilfered. We reach the halfway stage in overs but we are well past that in terms of runs – 92 needed from the next 25 overs.
24th over: India 141-1 (Sharma 62, Kohli 38) Kohli is nearly a goner! Ellis gets one to shoot through low and it pins Kohli on the pad… after a loooong wait the umpire says no. Australia send it upstairs and it is clipping the bails so stays NOT OUT on umpires call. Kohli flashes a wide smile, I think he though he was on his way there.
23rd over: India 134-1 (Sharma 59, Kohli 36)Mitch Marsh shuffles his pack but still to no avail at the moment. Zampa returns, Sharma sweeps and gets enough on it to send it to the fine leg fence for four.
22nd over: India 127-1 (Sharma 54, Kohli 34) Matt Short into the attack and a single off every ball. 110 from 28 overs needed for India.
21st over: India 121-1 (Sharma 51, Kohli 31) Rohit Sharma goes to 50 off 63 balls and the SCG crowd goes wild. Imagine if Virat gets there too… India chipping away without any fuss at the moment.
20th over: India 117-1 (Sharma 49, Kohli 29) Mitch Owen gets in and out of an over cheaply, just two runs off it. Sharma’s single takes him to 49, prepare for the noise!
19th over: India 115-1 (Sharma 48, Kohli 27) Six runs pocketed of Ellis. The crowd have settled into an excitable burble. Worth seeking out Kohli’s entrance earlier, that felt like a proper moment.
18th over: India 109-1 (Sharma 46, Kohli 24) Sharma and Kohli have gone into Elite Acculation Mode. Cooper Connolly picked off for four singles with no alarms.
17th over: India 105-1 (Sharma 44, Kohli 22) Starc returns with a testing over to Sharma, full and fast and then short and fast. Three off it, India need 132 from 33 overs. It’ll be absolute scenes if Kohli and Sharma knock these off.
16th over: India 102-1 (Sharma 43, Kohli 22) The hundred comes up for India as Zampa is clipped for three off his third over and it is time for a slurp of electrolytes. Drinks. All India at the moment.
15th over: India 99-1 (Sharma 41, Kohli 21) Starc returns and his first ball is driven by Kohli with high elbowed panache on the up through cover for four! The crowd enjoyed that one, sublime batting. Four singles follow, what a pleasure it is to see these two all time greats in full flow.
14th over: India 91-1 (Sharma 40, Kohli 14) Oh my days that is a gawwwgeous shot from Rohit Sharma! Zampa gives it some flight and he is lofted in-to-out over extra cover for SIX! Hold the pose!
13th over: India 83-1 (Sharma 32, Kohli 14) A brilliant battle between Kohli and Hazlewood. The bowler beats him with one that rises sharply but a short ball is then top edged over the keeper for four! Kohli works off his pads for two twos to keep the scoreboard ticking. Don’t go anywhere!
12th over: India 75-1 (Sharma 32, Kohli 6) Great theatre at the SCG, the crowd have ramped up since Kohli’s arrival and have not abated. Kohli cuts new bowler Adam Zampa for four past point and the decibel count goes up another notch.
11th over: India 70-1 (Sharma 32, Kohli 1) Kohli gets off the mark with a quick single and a smile breaks out across his face. He even does a small fist pump. No historic third duck in a row for him.
Virat Kohli walks to the middle to a cacophony of noise. Retirement rumours swirling, could this be the last time (on Australian soil at least?)
WICKET! Shubman Gill c †Carey b Hazlewood 24 (India 69-1)
Australia in need and Josh Hazlewood delivers! Gill nicks off and that brings you know who to the middle…
10th over: India 68-0 (Sharma 31, Gill 24) Mitch Marsh turns to Cooper Connolly’s left arm spin… Sharma and Gill work him around and have a look before Gill decides he wants some fun and drops to his knees and launches a slog sweep for SIX over midwicket!
9th over: India 58-0 (Sharma 30, Gill 15) Sharma is ticking now, he lofts Hazlewood over midwicket for four and then opens the face outside off to steer four more behind point. India cruising along at the moment.
8th over: India 48-0 (Sharma 25, Gill 10) Ellis is too straight again, Sharma whips him for a couple off the pads and then four more come courtesy of the thigh pad. Too straight Nath! Class from Rohit as he lofts four more over long on with Swiss clock timing and glides a single past point to pinch strike from Shubman.
7th over: India 37-0 (Sharma 18, Gill 10) It’s a change of ends for Hazlewood, Gill and Sharma exchange singles but then Big Josh finds his length once more and stitches together four dots to finish the over.
6th over: India 35-0 (Sharma 17, Gill 9) Nathan Ellis replaces the incredibly frugal Josh Hazlewood and it seems like a bit of a duff move to begin with. Five wides slammed down the leg side give Alex Carey no chance and then a clip off the thigh pad brings four more to Shubman. Thirteen runs off the over.
Geoff is slightly delayed so just jumping back on until he is ready to roll. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are out there for India, Sharma has just pinged Starc for four through point to get India up to 22-0 in the fifth over.
