India vs Australia, 3rd ODI Highlights: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Harshit Rana power India to 9-wicket win at the SCG

Well, Virat Kohli finishes it off with a ramp of all shots. He finishes unbeaten on 74 off 81, Rohit on 121 off 125. The partnership between the pair ends on 168* off 170 balls. The veterans show that they have still got it. There have been lots of questions swirling around their spot in this ODI setup. Make no mistake, there will still be questions in the near future, especially if they decide to sit out the Vijay Hazare Trophy, since this is the only format they play and there just isn't too many ODIs being played around the world. But well, just a few years back it was Rohit and Kohli who were very much Indian cricket's present as they sat in the dressing room and saw Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni put on a mammoth stand against England in an ODI at home. That knock is remembered quite fondly by the Indian fans, regardless of what happened in Yuvraj and Dhoni's careers after that. This one is surely going to remain in similar vein. Rohit and Kohli are the masters of ODI cricket, it is the format where they found the most success, and today they showed why they were so efficient at accumalating runs in this form of the game at their peak.

This series has probably gone the best way for Australia, both from a cricketing and non-cricketing perspective. Obviously they wouldn't be too happy that they lost this match by nine wickets but from a marketing stand point the hosts have hit the jackpot. They have won it, with the series finishing 2-1 in their favour. And in the last match, they have got a big Rohit-Kohli partnership for the crowd to rave about.

Well Josh Hazlewood has made a meal of that. Rohit goes for a pull shot fourth ball of the 37th over off Ellis and he can only get a top edge to it. Ellis leaves it for Hazlewood running in from mid-on, but the latter seems to have started off slowly, thinking it's probably a catch for the bowler. In the end, he can't make it. He also walks off the field after the effort, worryingly for Australia.

Just to rub salt in Ellis's wounds, Kohli sends the last ball of his pads through midwicket for a four. He is on 68 off 68, Rohit on 109 off 119.

Partnership between the pair has reached 150 in 164 balls

India 219/1 in 37 overs, need 18 to win from 78

Rohit Sharma overtakes Virender Sehwag (15,758) to become India's highest run-scoring opener across formats and equals Sachin Tendulkar (45) for most centuries across formats as opener for India. Only the 10th man in history with 50 international centuries.

- Lalith Kalidas

Single does the job! Zampa flights the last ball of the 33rd outside off, Rohit taps it to long off and takes that single. The SCG lets out a roar. Kohli puts an arm around his long time teammate, and there are huge smiles on both their faces. Rohit then raises his bat to all parts of the ground to acknowledge the crowd. Doesn't take off his helmet though, he has stopped doing a long time back.

Rohit has also gone past Kohli and is now the joint highest century-scorer against Australia in ODIs, tied with Sachin Tendulkar on nine.

He is on 100 off 105 balls, Kohli on 59 off 68.

India 200/1 in 33 overs

After that single, Rohit sweeps the fourth ball of that over by Connolly behind square for four. Single next ball and then Kohli cuts the last ball behind point for another four.

Kohli on 58 off 67 balls, Rohit on 96 off 100.

India 195/1 in 32 overs

Kohli takes a single off the third ball of the 32nd over and that takes him to 54 off 66. It also takes his career tally to 14,235 runs taking him past Kumar Sangakkara to become the second highest run scorer of all-time in ODI history.

Big roar from the SCG crowd as a single from the third ball of the 28th by Connolly takes Kohli to 50 in 56 balls. He smiles and acknowledges the cheers.

Rohit runs a single next ball and then Kohli takes two off the last. He is on 52 off 58, Rohit on 78 off 85. Partnership between the pair on 102 now.

India 171/1 in 28 overs, need 66 to win in 132 balls

Oh well, they seem to have decided to ramp the run rate up a notch. Kohli meets the third ball of the 26th over by Ellis with a swivel pull, ball goes between fine leg and backward point for four. He takes a single and then Rohit smashes the fifth ball square for a four. He then starts the next over by Zampa with a big slog sweep for six.

Rohit on 77 off 84, Kohli on 47 off 53.

India 165/1 in 27 overs

Well these two players, Rohit in particular, have tried to go the aggressive route in recent years for T20 purposes but today, Rohit and Kohli have switched it back to the old days. A lot may have changed in the world but ODI cricket is the same. India's deficit is well below the number of balls they have left and the two veterans know that singles with shots along the ground are all that's needed.

Kohli on 40 off 47, Rohit on 64 off 78.

India 145/1 in 25 overs

Kohli himself couldn't believe his luck, something he hasn't had too much of in his recent matches across formats in Australia. Second ball from Ellis in the 24th over, it was short, Kohli went for the pull but it stayed low. Big appeal and the umpire shakes his head. Australia review and well, well, well, the ball is hitting the stumps but it's umpire's call! Kohli couldn't help but laugh seeing that replay.

He is on 38 off 45 at the end of that over, Rohit on 62 off 74.

India 141/1 in 24 overs, need 96 to win from 156 balls

A single off the fourth ball by Ellis in the 21st over takes Rohit to 50 in 63 balls. Big roar from the crowd at the SCG, Rohit raises his bat and looks up for a second before walking back to the middle to be greeted by Kohli. Well, the veterans are putting on a show here.

Two more singles in that over and Rohit is on 51 off 64, Kohli on 31 off 36.

India 121/1 in 21 overs, need 116 to win from 174 balls

This is another good partnership between these two, coming on the back of the first one between Rohit and Gill. These two have batted with a bit more purpose and pushed the Aussies onto the back foot. Mitchell Starc, who was a bit of color has been targeted and his spell has been made the most of. Adam Zampa, who has picked up Kohli six times and has good match-up too, looked a bit short of ideas on how to get the batter out. Once again, without Bartlett, this attack seems to be a lot more suited to pull things back than induce collapses.

Mitchell Marsh has brought in the changes here. Not that the Aussies have bowled too badly, but there is not a lot in the wicket to work with. While Nathan Ellis is a bit of an exception, as he was all over the place in his initial couple of overs. The way these two are batting, it is hard to see how Australia is going to pick the next wicket. Marsh has turned to Conolly,, who is the fifth bowling option in this attack. At some point, he has to go back to Ellis, who specializes in his slower ball variations, but will they be of any use today? We have to find out.

Well, 100 up for India just in 16 overs. Both Rohit and Kohli have batted quite superbly. The former is looking a lot more fluent today and is playing the version of him before the 2023 World Cup, where he takes a bit of time initially but makes sure he goes and gets a match-winning ton. As per the latter, there is still that tendency to flutter that bat outside the off-stump, which he did a couple of times today, but missed it luckily for him, and also managed to play a sumptuous drive down the ground, dictating his arrival.

Well, Kohli has started aggressively here. It does seem like he is in the mood where he wants to enjoy himself and play some shots. There is just that vibe in the ground where more than the win, most in the ground just want to enjoy the celebration of these players batting together. If both can take India home from without losing a wicket, nothing like it, but it just is a pretty special occasion, those at Sydney Cricket today. Kohli in chase, Rohit at his fluent best, watching them one last time might be a worthy story to tell.

Shubman Gill has fallen here. It is another low score for him in white-ball cricket. Josh Hazlewood is who gets the breakthrough. It was that fourth stump channel again, which Gill just poked at, and the edge went to Carey. Well could Gill have played it any differently, probably not. It was a peach of a delivery from Hazlewood, but the low score does add up to his tally. Virat Kohli has walked into the middle, and the news of relief already he got of the mark, and yes, he was given a standing ovation, as it might be the last time he is playing in this venue and country.

Rohit is batting quite nicely now. In the previous game, he did look a tad bit rusty against the new ball and got into the innings as he spent time in the middle, but today, there is a lot more fluency to his bat swing, and the ball, apart from an odd one, has come pretty nicely onto the bat. An 80 or 100 from Rohit here will not only give him a lot of confidence but also ensure India will take one win going into the T20I series. While one would have loved to see a couple more ODIs to give more insights into where Rohit and Kohli are, it's a shame this is what we got with the modern calendar.

Nathan Ellis has come in for an over for Australia, and it was a bit of nothing over from him. It probably was done to swap the end of Hazlewood, but he bowled one too many slower ones in that over, which went down the leg-side for boundaries. While the slower ones are very important in this format of the game, one still needs that stock delivery. A stock ball that Ellis can bowl regularly, which he has not shown yet. This is where someone like Bartlett, with his out-swinger, would have been quite a tricky customer for the Indian openers to deal with early in the piece here.

Both the openers, Gill and Rohit, have started cautiously here. The ball is not doing as much similar in the first innings. However, both these bowlers have been in some of the best forms of their careers and are bowling quite magnificently here, and the only way Australia can make a match out of this is by picking up wickets early in the piece. Also, we go back to selections. It was a very interesting call from Australia to drop Bartlett, who has bowled quite superbly in the previous game. Nathan Ellis is a pretty good bowler as well, but Bartlett seems to be more suited for this format of the game.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have started here. Like the last game, India needs to respect the new ball. While they did respect the bowlers, they lost one wicket too many, and today, with a target in front of them, the tempo they need to go at is quite clear. Rohit especially can play with a bit more measure to his innings. Let the ball lose a bit of shine and see if this spell from Hazlewood, who has been in superb form, and then make the most against change bowlers. A similar mantra might do a world of good to both Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, who have been short of runs as well.

Both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have walked into the middle for India. It is going to be a fascinating chase for India. While getting these runs might be seen as consolation of sorts but not getting them losing this game will set cats among pigeons. Interesting chase, this does stay with us.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Australia (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Before this Australian tour, Axar Patel appeared on the popular Gujarati comedy show Lavari. He was on stage with a bunch of comics, overly delighted to converse in his mother tongue, at ease in the company of those who let him be the boy from Nadiad, the temple town near Ahmedabad he grew up in. This was the real Axar finally standing up and being himself.

Alternately, he would have the crowd in splits with his sense of humour and in awe of his incredible ability to soak up pressure in tight situations. They all wanted him to talk about Bridgetown, and the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where he scored a game-saving 31-ball 47, after being promoted up the order to avert a 34/3 crisis. (Read more from Sandeep Dwivedi)

A few hours before the final match of the India-Australia ODI series begins at the hallowed Sydney Cricket Ground, Virat Kohli comes out in the field for a warm up amid the loudest cheers. As he touches the ground and touches his forehead thrice, the thousands of Indian fans who have already gathered on the stands in anticipation go euphoric.

It may not matter what he scores today or whether he scores or not, considering he couldn’t open his account in the last two matches of the series, which India has lost to Australia anyway. But at SCG, which has a capacity to seat 43,000 and no tickets left, the smiles and cheers don’t tell the story of loss, but of undying love for cricket, and for the cricketers. (Read more from Divya A in Sydney)

Well, it has been an innings that tapered off as it went along for Australia. More than the pitch, it was the lack of ability to construct a coherent ODI innings that was the issue. While Renshaw batted quite beautifully, he had to hold this innings, which he was unable to do, and the collapse was inevitable. As per the Indian bowling, the six bowling options have all chipped in. Although Prasidh was a bit expensive, it was his first game of the tour. India will be happy with the total, and if they apply themselves and have a couple of good partnerships, this should be a comfortable chase. The issue for them will be facing the new ball, which at this venue underlights and swings a lot. Do stay with us, we will be right back after the break.

Harshit Rana has picked up his third wicket of the evening. Here it is, the danger man Connolly, he gets rid of. It was a slower ball from the pacer that Connolly tried to hit got the bottom edge, and the ball flew high in the air, and the long-off fielder took the catch comfortably. Josh Hazlewood has walked into the middle, and his stumps were rattled by Rana as well. He ended up with four wickets did Harshit Rana it is a good effort from him. Australia is bundled out for a mere 236 here in Sydney.

Prasidh Krishna has picked up the wicket of Nathan Ellis here. It was a fuller one, and Ellis miscued it straight to Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket. Australia has lost eight wickets now. This is a sub-par total from them. Well, once again, it is one of the modern ODI issues that teams are facing, batters who are in need to get a three-digit mark, and today the responsibility to do that was from Matt Renshaw. To be fair to him, it was not an attacking shot that got him out, but actually a shot to take a single.

Australia needs a partnership here. Well, 280 is what does look like a good score on this wicket, but with the current predicament they are in Australia needs another Connolley special here. Nathan Ellis, too, is a handy bat out in the middle if he can hold his end up. They can look to get around that 260-mark, which will give them a decent shot at the Indian batting line-up, who themselves are going through a bit of a lull in the batting. As we update, Kuldeep is done for the day, and he picked up one wicket for 50 runs.

Well, it was a superb delivery from Kuldeep Yadav. He has imparted nice revelations on the ball, and Mitchell Starc had no clue of the incoming delivery as it took off the leg-stump of the batter. Well, playing with six bowlers did seem like overkill but it seems like it did work out nicely for the Indians today, and whatever Australia will be able to get from here on, India should be able to chase these runs if the top order gets going. Virat Kohli is a chase master and will be in his comfort zone, and will be hoping to get a good score here.

Harshit Rana has picked up the second wicket in two overs. It was a hard-length delivery from him, and the batter Mitch Owen backs away and plays a bit of a nothing shot, and Rohit in first slip finishes off the catch. Well, it is good to see Rana picking a couple of wickets after getting thrashed by critics and enduring a lot of social media trolling. India is now into Australian bowlers. Mitchell Starc has walked into the middle from good looking for 330 in the first 10 overs to 280 after the 30-over mark. Now the hosts are clutching to get to that 250, and there is a genuine possibility they just might not even bat out these overs. As we update Kuldeep Yadav picks up Mitchell Starc.

Just when Australia seemed to be getting away with the game, India has managed to find a wicket. Apart from those first 10 overs, India have been dominant in this game. Especially through the middle overs, both Sundar and Axar have bowled quite nicely. As we update, India has managed to pick one more wicket, and it is Sundar who got the wicket of set batter Renshaw. The left-hander came down the track to work the ball on the leg-side and missed it completely, though it looked a 50-50 on the first look umpire gave it out, and when sent upstairs, there were all reds on the ball tracking.

Harshit Rana has picked up his first wicket here, and Alex Carey is the man who has departed. He hit an aerial shot through the square of the wicket and seemed like the ball would be dropping between two fielders; however, Iyer pulled off a stunning dive at the last moment to pull off an unlikely catch and got injured himself. Will he come to bat? We have to see, but as per the wicket, it was a good breakthrough from Rana. Cooper Conolley has walked into the middle. With the knock he played in the previous game, he would be high on confidence.

Matt Renshaw is batting nicely here. There has been a certain fluency to his innings, and he has been able to bat at a good strike rate without taking too many risks, which is always a quality of a batter who is at the top of his game. In the previous game, he threw it away, but today he would want to make the most of the start he had and put his name in contention for the Ashes. Opening might not be the slot, but there are also openings in the middle order, which Australia can look to fit him in. Looks a lot more composed than his earlier spell when he made his debut in India back in 2017.

An opportunity has been missed by India yet again. It was a fuller delivery from Kuldeep Yadav and Carey, who looked to sweep the ball through square-leg, ended up playing it too straight, and Prasidh Krishna, fielding at long-off, dropped the catch. Well, Shubman Gill has been quite vocal about India's catching, and there is one again dropped. While this is one of the best fielding sides India has been able to drop quite a of catches in recent times. Carey survives, but he does need to get a bit of a move on here.

Prasidh has bowled much better lines in this spell so far. Also, it helps him the fact that he is bowling to the new batter in Carey. India would love for Prasidh to pick one more wicket here. He does possess a lethal yorker, does Krishna, and he will be hoping to use it in the middle overs and surprise the batters from time to time. It is important that Prasidh and Rana, who might be playing this format for years to come, hone their skills in the middle overs and look for ways to pick wickets rather than just trying to be defensive.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the modern-day stalwarts of the Men in Blue, equalled a colossal Indian record held by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid during the final ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. (Read more)

Matthew Short has fallen here. It was a slog sweep shot from him, which was taken by the square-leg fielder inside the ring. Well, Sundar is the wicket-taker, so both the finger-spinners have got one wicket each. Alex Carey is the new man in, and with two left-handers in the middle, Axar has been taken out of the attack, and Gill turns back to Prasidh, who has just bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay. This has been a pretty good passage for India; they have managed to build pressure and create breakthroughs regularly.

Washington Sundar has come into the attack, and he has started well here with the ball. The squeeze is on the Australian batters, they are looking to get adjusted to the pace of the surface, and Indian bowlers too are getting through those quiet overs. We are in that middle phase of the innings where the fielding teams get into that mode where they are happy with batters taking singles and rotating strike rather than pushing for those wickets. Just to make things interesting, it might not be a bad ploy for Gill to bring back in pace for a couple of overs and see how the batters respond.

One thing Axar Patel is good at in these middle overs for India is like Ravindra Jadeja, he might not be bowling a 9/10 or 10/10 sort of spell every day, but more often than not, he comes with 7 and 7.5, which allows the captain to control things. Also, the way the current regime is using Axar is quite different from the previous ones. They are letting him bat at five and making the most of his all-round ability. Goes under the radar, does Axar for both franchise and country, but does the job consistently day in and day out.

Axar Patel gets the wicket. It was a good delivery on the off-stump, and Mitchell Marsh tried to push the ball, or rather punch the ball through covers, and the ball hit the stumps. Well, drinks break does it again, the lapse in concentration from the batter, but Axar was right up there with his accuracy. Matt Renshaw has walked into the middle, and it might not be too long before Gill brings in another bowling change in Washington Sundar. India has pulled back things in the last 30 minutes or so with some tight bowling and a couple of wickets.

India has conducted a review here. It was a poor one from them. Kuldeep Yadav tossed one up, and it was the wrong one, which went away from Short, and there seems to be a noise India has heard, and they have sent it upstairs, only to find out there was nothing. It was a poor review from India. As per the bowling changes, they have brought in Axar Patel too into the attack. It is a nice passage for Gill to get a few overs of spin in with two right-handers in the middle; the left-arm spinner and left-arm wrist spinner might be the options to go.

It is not Axar Patel, Gill has turned to, but Kuldeep Yadav. He bowled a decent over, and there is not much on offer for him at this point in the game. But nevertheless, with only one ball used after the 34th over, we might see him getting something a bit later in the innings. Also, it will be interesting to see how Gill stacks up his overs before that ball change because it is a new rule, and so far the evidence has suggested that the older ball is harder to hit in final overs and having a few quality overs of spin in those final overs might come in real handy.

Mohammed Siraj has swapped ends here, and it was sort of a delivery that the Head punishes for a boundary, but he hit it straight to the point fielder. Although Siraj would claim it was a plan but Head would be gutted with that one. India has made a breakthrough here. The way both Head and Marsh were batting, it looked like they were going to set up the foundation for a massive total, but not to be. Matthew Short has walked into the middle. With two right-handers in the middle, we might see the introduction of Axar Patel immediately from one of the ends.

Well, Krishna has come into the attack, but it is for Siraj and not for Harshit Rana. It is the first game for Krishna in this series, and he did start a tad bit rustily in that opening over. One thing India has to be watchful of today is that although both Rana and Krishna are very good bowlers and have a lot of potential, at times, they can be quite leaky with runs. Especially, Krishna has had his issues with bowling at the death, or at times given the impression of going through the motions a bit when batters are going after him. So it will be a different challenge for Gill on this flat wicket.

Australia has started well here. The Indians have bowled fuller at times, which the batters ended up driving nicely, as there is not a lot of swing in the air. Although Shubman Gill is one of those captains who likes giving his bowlers longer spells today, it might be an opportunity to use them in short bursts. He has Prasidh Krishna on the side, who will love to have a burst with the ball relatively new here. With him hitting the deck, there might be a bit more on offer. Rana, who is bowling at the moment, just seems a tad bit off his pace and not getting to the crease as rhythmically as we are used to seeing him.

Well, it might be a bit too early, three overs into the innings, but this surface already looks different from the one we had at Adelaide. The surface did a lot more with the new ball there, but today's wicket seems to be a bit more batting-friendly. There is a hint of grass on the surface, which might play its part more under lights when Australia come to bowl. Also, it is quite interesting that they have decided to replace Xavier Bartlett with Nathan Ellis, which shows they think this is a better batting track, but Bartlett, with the game he had in the previous one under lights today, might have been mighty effective.

Mohammed Siraj has taken the new ball for India, and it is a maiden over to start the proceedings. Once again, there is a bit of nibble in the air for him, and with the form Siraj has been in recently, he has kept hitting that good length region in and around the off-stump channel, which has troubled Mitchell Marsh. And from the other end, it is Harshit Rana who has got the new ball. Gill has six bowling options today to use. It will be interesting to see how he utilizes his resources. Kuldeep Yadav, especially on this wicket, might be a tricky customer to handle.

It is yet another beautiful day here in Sydney. The conditions look excellent for cricket. The crowd is buzzing, and although the series is over, we might still have a good game of cricket here. Both Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head are in the middle, and Mohammad Siraj is to take the new ball.

"The one thing you know about this square, it is rock hard, and this pitch is really hard. When the pitch is hard, there'll be a few cracks here in SCG. You can see there are cracks running down, vertically down the track, so the quicks will be looking at this, trying to line a few up. And there is some green live grass as well, so that means with these two brand new balls, there should be a little bit of movement. But the one thing about SCG is that the ball goes through nicely, so there's a lot of value for your shots here, which makes it a high-sporting ground. Historically, it's a high-scoring ground. The ball goes through really well. This could be the best batting pitch of the series so far. We are in for a very good contest today."

Nitish Kumar Reddy sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI in Adelaide and was subsequently unavailable for selection for the third ODI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring him on a daily basis.

Lalith Kalidas: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli team up for their 391st match together across formats, the joint-most for India. They equal Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who also played 391 matches together between 1996-2012.

We would have bowled first. Have a target on the total and then try to chase down, I think we got what we wanted. We had just enough runs (in the last game) on the board and a couple of chances coming our way which we couldn't take. That happens in the game of cricket, you've got to take your chances. The game was going on pretty even till about the 40th over. In the end, they played well. Hopefully this game is going to be a good one for us. Two changes. Kuldeep and Prasidh come in for Arshdeep and Reddy.

We are gonna bat first. Seems like a really nice wicket. It's going to be a beautiful day here at the SCG. The way the young guys stoop up towards the back end, it's great signs for our team. Today's a great opportunity to go 3-0 up in the series. Cooper is a calm character and he played terrifically last game. Nathan Ellis is back in for Xavier Bartlett.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

“When the required rate is 9 or 10 runs per over, there Harshit Rana is effective because his strength is change of pace. But when batters are playing like Test cricket when the required rate is around 5 or 6 runs per over, the bowler has to bring more skills to outfox the batter when he is playing in 3rd gear,” Kaif added.

“I’m following Harshit Rana a lot, but he does not have a strong delivery. It’s not like he has a solid outswinger or an inswinger. When we speak about Siraj or Bumrah, they have their strengths, such as their yorkers, pace, or slower deliveries. But I can’t figure out what Harshit Rana’s strength is. It’s not like he bowls over 140. Play either one of Rana or Reddy, because both of them can’t play together. Kuldeep Yadav sitting out for this is a clear injustice,” Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

The weather for Saturday's cricket match in Sydney is expected to be pleasant, with temperatures ranging from a low of 17°C to a high of 25 °C. The pitch is anticipated to become more favorable for batting under the lights, which, combined with the recent series results, is likely to make both teams tempted to choose to chase the target after winning the toss.

The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) pitch, while traditionally batting-friendly, is currently expected to offer a more balanced contest early in the domestic season. Seam bowlers who focus on hitting the hard lengths to extract extra bounce will find assistance, especially with the new ball. As the match progresses, the pitch is known to deteriorate and provide ample grip and turn for spinners, rewarding those who put significant revolutions on the ball, making them a key factor in the later stages of the game.

“That muscle memory of just game after game, which he has done for 15 years, but then have six months off and play in very, very foreign conditions is hard. If his first game back was in India, I think he’s straight back into it. But because he’s in Australia, that shot he played, in India he cover drives that for four,” Clarke said speaking on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.

“Here, it bounced and hit him a bit higher on the bat, he’s out in front of himself and gets caught at backward point. So, their top three, for them to get out like that, sort of sums up their play throughout the game. Their bowlers tried to get their lengths right and some mixups in the running, so they were just underdone,” he added.

“He’ll have to get some form pretty quickly. The competition for places is such in India in white-ball cricket, no one is going to relax, whether it’s Virat or Rohit or anyone in the team. It’s not going to be easy; there is competition. He missed out again today; he was a little tentative with his footwork. It doesn’t happen often, his record in one-day cricket is phenomenal, so for him to get two ducks on the trot, he’ll be disappointed.” Shastri said while commentating on Fox Sports during the second ODI.

“Virat Kohli’s form is important. He needs to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard moving. Because once he starts doing that, it becomes very difficult for any opposition to stop him. I hope Virat starts rotating the strike quickly, gets some runs on the board, and once that happens, there’s no looking back for him,” Pathan said on JioStar.

“I think Shubman’s one of those captains that the more he does it, the better he’s going to get. And a lot of the time with captaining, it’s learning to back your gut feeling or go with your instinct. And he’s got senior players around, and obviously Rohit’s there and Virat’s there to go to if he needs something.”

“They’re not playing their best cricket. Conditions are very, very different, opposite to what they get in India, and they’ve had the worst of conditions. Not making excuses for him, but they’re certainly missing their two best bowlers and, in my opinion, one of their best players in Hardik Pandya. So Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have been missed, there’s no doubt about it. I think if those two are fit and healthy, they would come straight back into this Indian team and make a big difference. But still, Australia is outplaying India at the moment,” observed Clarke.

“I predicted 2-1 Australia, so I don’t mind if India wins this game, one of my predictions, right? But yeah, look, I just hope it’s a really good game of one-day cricket. India won’t want to go home without a win, and like I say, you’re leading into the T20s as well, so a lot of the players will go into that format wanting to take some confidence. I’m hoping it’s a good game,” Michael Clarke said on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.

We had just enough runs on the board. Never easy when you drop a couple of chances to be able to defend that kind of a total. In the first game, it (toss) was more crucial because of the rain. But in this game, I wouldn't say that much because both the teams played for almost 50 overs. The wicket was doing a little bit more initially. But I think the wicket settled pretty nicely after 15-20 overs. (On Rohit Sharma) Never easy, coming back and to play some competitive cricket after a long time. But the initial phase was very challenging. Very pleased the way he batted. Fought out in the initial phase. I would say he missed out on a really big knock.

Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (c), Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitch Owen, Mitchell Starc/Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy/Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar/Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Hello and welcome to our live blog of the third ODI between India and Australia. Although the series is done and dusted, there is plenty to look forward to. The form of Virat Kohli is among the major talking points, and the other thing would be to see if Kuldeep Yadav will get a game or India sticks to the same balance as they have played in this series so far. Do stay with us, it is going to be a super Saturday in Sydney.