Shubman Gill described the nine-wicket thumping of Australia in the third match as a “near-perfect game” in Sydney on Saturday, citing the brilliant innings of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the reasons he secured his first victory as India’s ODI captain.
With more than 11 overs to spare, India chased down Australia’s modest 236 thanks to the solid backing of Virat Kohli (74 not out) and Rohit Sharma (121 not out), who recorded his 33rd ODI century.
“We had a near-perfect game. The chase was pleasing to see. Rohit and Kohli have done it for so many years, and it was a delight to watch. It was a special win on a special ground,” said Gill in the post-match presentation, even though India lost the three-match series 1-2.
Gill praised spinners for keeping the Australians quiet in the middle overs and pacer Harshit Rana, who took four wickets.
“We pulled things back in the middle overs. Our spinners contained (batters) in the middle and pacers took key wickets. Harshit bowled fast in the middle overs, we need that quality,” he added.
While praising Rohit and Kohli for their remarkable efforts, Australian captain Michell Marsh lamented their inability to convert a solid platform of 195 for three with about 15 overs left.
“We’ve seen Rohit and Virat do that over 10 years against lots of teams. We needed one more stand in the back-end of our first innings. We had a great platform at 195/3 but we couldn’t cash in. India were too good with bat.
“I think the experienced guys who came into the side – (Matthew) Renshaw, (Nathan) Ellis etc, did well we can be proud of winning the series after two games,” said Marsh.
