There is so much to do in life besides what you do professionally: Cricketer Rohit Sharma

Sydney: Rohit Sharma attributed the success he had in the just-concluded ODI series against Australia to the preparation "in his own terms", which stemmed from the self-realisation of life having more angles to it than just being professionally committed.

Rohit made an unbeaten 121 here to guide India to a nine-wicket win over Australia which helped the visitors avoid a whitewash. The hosts won the three-match series 2-1.

"Since the time I started playing, I never had four to five months to prepare for a series, so I wanted to utilise that. I wanted to do things in my own way, on my own terms, and that actually worked out well for me, understanding what I need to do for the rest of my career," Rohit told the BCCI website.

Rohit was adjudged man of the match and man of the series against the Aussies, despite playing competitive cricket for the first time since the IPL in May.

“It was important to utilise that time because, like I said, I never had so much time, and I prepared well back home. There are differences between conditions here and back home but I have come here so many times, so, it was just about getting into that rhythm.

“So I give a lot of credit to the way I prepped before coming here, giving a lot of time to myself first. That was very important because sometimes you need to understand that there is so much to do in life besides what you do professionally. But I got a lot of time in my hand, and I utilised that," he added.

Rohit cherished the big, match-winning partnership that he had with long-time associate Virat Kohli.

"I enjoy playing in Australia, today also...to get a big one and get the team through. When we started to bat, obviously, it was a bit of a challenge with two new balls, the pitch was slightly misbehaving at the start and we knew that once the shine of the ball is off, it will get a bit easier.

"Fantastic partnership (with Kohli) after a long long time. I think we did not have a 100-run partnership for a long time. It was good to get that partnership from a team's perspective, looking at how we were placed at one point.

"(Shubman) Gill got out a bit early, and we knew with (injured) Shreyas Iyer not being there, there was an added responsibility on batters. We enjoyed every moment we spent out there, there was a lot of chatter between the two of us.

"We have played so much cricket together. We understand each other really well, so much experience between the two of us and we used it pretty well," he reminisced.

Despite the series defeat, former skipper Rohit found some positives.

"A lot of positives from the series, especially Harshit Rana who has been playing white-ball cricket in Australia for the first time, and the way he bowled in both the games (Sydney and Adelaide), it was a fantastic effort from him,” he added.

The 38-year-old also had a word of appreciation for the Australian crowd and Indian supporters.

“Very, very grateful, firstly, to have people standing beside you. Whenever we have played, people have come out and supported not just the two of us, but the entire team.

“In Australia, the crowd never disappoints. They come out in large numbers to watch cricket because two good teams playing, they want to watch quality cricket.

“Unfortunately, we could not cross the line with the series, but we enjoyed coming here. Really, really grateful to the crowd for their support throughout Australia. I hope they continue to do that,” he said.