A delight to watch Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in a near-perfect game: Shubman Gill

Sydney: Shubman Gill on Saturday said the masterly innings of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli helped him register his maiden win as India’s ODI skipper, terming the nine-wicket romp against Australia in the third match a “near-perfect game.”

Rohit Sharma (121 not out) notched up his 33rd ODI century, while Virat Kohli (74 not out) provided steady support as India chased down Australia’s modest 236 with nearly 11 overs to spare.

“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 lauded pacer Harshit Rana, who bagged four wickets, and spinners for keeping the Aussies quiet in the middle overs.

“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.

Australian skipper Michell Marsh applauded Rohit and Kohli for playing special knocks but rued the fact that they could not convert a good platform of 195 for three with around 15 overs remaining.

“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 for three.

“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.