India’s captain Virat Kohli and Vice-captain Rohit Sharma are at the peak of their cricketing careers. Every time they come out to bat, both the batsman looked in flamboyant touch. In the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo, both the batsmen scored brilliant centuries and helped India to reach a mammoth total of 375 in 50 overs. At one stage, Kohli and Sharma were brutally tearing the Sri Lankan bowling line up, and it seemed like India were on their way for another 400+ runs total.
Kohli and Sharma enjoy batting together, and their 219 runs partnership in the fourth ODI was the third time the pair crossed the milestone. Only three other pairs have as many stands; Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli and Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardena. Virat and Rohit made their entry in the team in the same year. Rohit came in a few months earlier, but his struggles with inconsistency and injuries made his place in the team questionable. However, this wasn’t the case with Kohli. He stormed on to the international scene and cemented his place in the team.
On Thursday, the duo was on fire, and like most of this pair’s partnerships, this time too Lanka was on the receiving end. After the match, the two were involved in a fun interview where Kohli said:
“It was very difficult and we decided not to run any more twos after the first 16 overs because it was so hot and humid. Actually, it was very helpful not to focus on too many things – we were not even thinking of anyting else. We were not looking at the scoreboard and we were watching every ball. It is always a pleasure to bat with you (Rohit) anyway.”
About the chemistry of the team and the friendly environment of the dressing room Kohli said:
“It has been amazing to lead this team. How the team gels well together, for me, is the most special thing. I think it’s the hunger of all the guys in the team that’s making us play this way. It’s amazing to see guys being so hungry even after performing in one or two games. It makes my job so much easier, this team is amazing anyway. I am just placing field and everything is being done by the players.”