Published 07:54 IST, January 20th 2020
Aaron Finch heaps praise on India's top-order, hails 'expectional' Kohli & Rohit
Even though Australia lost the series against India, skipper Aaron Finch heaped praise on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who fuelled India's innings.
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Even though Australia lost the series against India, skipper Aaron Finch heaped praise on the top-order of the Men in Blue and further stressed on the focal reason behind the success of the hosts. India completed a comprehensive seven-wicket win against Australia in the third and final ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bengaluru on Sunday, sealing the series 2-1. The Indian limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma scored a 128-ball 119 which included eight boundaries and eight maximums. He was ably supported by his skipper Virat Kohli who scored a vital 89.
Lavishing praise on the skipper and his deputy, Finch asserted Virat to be one of the greatest players of all time. He also went on to call the duo 'exceptional'.
"They are great. They have Virat, who is probably the greatest ODI player of all-time, they have Rohit, who features in the top-five ODI batters of all time. They are exceptional. Experienced players in this Indian lineup are doing the job done and it is a feature of a good team," Finch told reporters after the third ODI.
Batting first, Australia managed to post 286/9 in their allotted fifty overs, while losing wickets at regular intervals. "I thought we were a few runs short. As soon as we started building a platform, we lost a wicket and then we had to rebuild again. The guys are still learning, the middle order has not played a lot of cricket together. I think there were so many positives from this series," Finch said.
READ: MOM Rohit Sharma reflects on his match-winning chemistry with Virat Kohli in the decider
Kohli, Sharma anchor the Indian run chase
Fiery opener Rohit Sharma led the chase against Australia from the front, as he brought up his 29th ODI ton as well as surpassing 9000 runs in the limited-overs format of the game. Skipper Virat Kohli came very close to his 44th ton before Josh Hazlewood got rid of the Indian skipper. From there on, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey took over the reins and completed the win for the home side. Hitman Rohit Sharma was adjudged the Man of the Match for his magnificent knock with the bat. Skipper Virat Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Series.
(Image Credit: AP)
07:54 IST, January 20th 2020