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Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli a bright 74 to drive India to a nine-wicket win in the third one day international Saturday, sending fans home happy after what are likely to be their final appearances in Australia in their country’s colours.Australia secured series honours with victories in the first two matches in Perth and Adelaide but India’s bowlers skittled the home side for 236 and the two former skippers got the tourists over the line with a partnership of 168 runs.“I’ve always loved coming here... and a nice way to finish getting that knock and getting that win as well,” said Rohit.“I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but it was fun all these years that we played here. A lot of good memories, bad memories. But all in all, I’ll take the cricket that I played here.”Kohli, the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs behind Sachin Tendulkar, came out to join Sharma at the crease to a frenzied ovation from a big crowd that made the Sydney Cricket Ground feel more like it was located in New Delhi than New South Wales.Rohit had already combined with current skipper Shubman Gill (24) to cut 69 runs out of the chase but this was the “Ro-Ko” partnership the massed ranks of fans in blue shirts waving tricolour flags had come to see.The two thirtysomethings, who both now only play the 50-over game for India, duly delivered with assured shots and mature decision-making that frustrated then dispirited the Australian bowlers.Rohit smashed 13 fours and three sixes in his 33rd century in the format, reaching the milestone for the ninth time against Australia with a pushed drive down the ground for a single.Kohli, who had been dismissed for ducks in the previous two matches, brought up his 75th half-century to a huge roar with a single on one ball and Rohit locked in a 19th ODI century stand between the pair with another solitary run on the next delivery.“When we bat together ... even back in the day, we used to think, if we have a big partnership, the kind of strokes we can play, we can really take the game away from the opposition,” said Kohli.“The opposition also knew that if these guys are in for 20 overs together, any total is chaseable.”Rohit should have been caught on 108 after spooning a shot high into the night sky but was reprieved when Josh Hazlewood failed to get under it and finished 121 not out.Kohli got the winning runs by clipping a short ball off the face of his bat for a four down to third man.Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first at a venue where that decision had led to victory for the team concerned in the last nine ODIs.All of Australia’s top order got a start but only Matt Renshaw (56) managed to convert his innings into a half century, giving another boost to his hopes of reviving his long-stalled Test career in time for the Ashes.All-rounder Harshit Rana took 4-39 mopping up the Australian tail, curtailing the innings with the wickets of Cooper Connolly and Josh Hazlewood in the space of three balls.Kohli took the catch at long off to send back Connolly, having earlier whipped the crowd into another frenzy with a sharp hold at forward square to dismiss Matthew Short for 30 off the bowling of Washington Sundar.“We want to say thank you,” Kohli concluded.“We’ve loved coming to this country and playing in front of such big crowds. And we’ve played some of our best cricket here as well.”BRIEF SCORE:SIndia 237 for 1 (Rohit 121*, Kohli 74*) beat Australia 236 (Renshaw 56, Rana 4-39) by 9 wickets

All eyes in Perth are on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the two India stalwarts prepare for the opening one-day international against Australia Sunday, marking the first national team outing for the pair since winning the Champions Trophy in March.India’s new ODI skipper, Shubman Gill, told journalists Saturday that he had had numerous conversations with his predecessors who had retired from the shortest and longest forms of the game, about how to take the team forward.“Definitely very exciting – big shoes for me to fill carrying over the legacy (Virat and Rohit) left for us,” the 26-year-old said.“These are the kind of players when I was a kid, I used to idolise them. The kind of game that they used to play, the kind of hunger that they had is something that inspired me. It’s a big honour to lead such legends of the game and learn from them.”Gill has already captained at T20I and Test level, but the upcoming three-match series will be the first time he has led in ODIs, where he averages nearly 60 with the bat.“I think in front of a difficult situation, I wouldn’t shy away from getting any suggestions or advice from them,” he said.“How they converse and what kind of communication or messaging they had with the players is something that helped me get the best out of myself. That’s the kind of captain I would want to be, where all my players feel very secure in the job they have to do.”Australia captain Mitch Marsh acknowledged that India’s two returning batsmen are partly responsible for an expected bumper crowd at the 60,000-seat Perth Stadium, which is nearing a sell-out despite a forecast of rain.“A lot of people are going to come and watch them. If it is their last time on Australian soil, I hope they enjoy it,” the 33-year-old said, before cheekily adding that he would prefer “not too much good cricket from them”.The Perth local, who struck two hundreds and averaged 70 across white-ball formats against South Africa and New Zealand in recent months, dead-batted any suggestion that continued goodform might prompt a Test recall ahead of the Ashes series this summer.“I’ve got tickets for day one and two, I haven’t asked the wife yet, but that’s about as much thought as I’ve given it.”

Australian cricket fans may have their last chance to see India batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in action when the pair tour in the one day international (ODI) series starting in Perth Sunday.Boasting almost 600 ODIs between them, both 36-year-old Kohli and 38-year-old Rohit are active internationally only in the 50-overs format but their future beyond the three-match series is uncertain. Head coach Gautam Gambhir was tight-lipped when asked this week whether the duo might continue on under new captain Shubman Gill, who leads the ODI squad for the first time in Australia.Rohit and Kohli last played for India in the Champions Trophy final in March in which they beat New Zealand.If Australia is to be their last taste of international cricket, it will be in front of crowds packed with fans from the country’s booming Indian communities in Perth, Adelaide (October 23) and Sydney (October 25). A number of Test players in the Australia squad, including batter Travis Head and veteran pacemen, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, will use the series to loosen up for the Ashes.It will Starc’s first start in international cricket in the Australasian summer, having retired from T20s.Marnus Labuschagne, a late call-up to replace injured all-rounder Cameron Green, will hope to convert his hot red-ball form into white-ball runs to continue building his case for an Ashes recall.Labuschagne was dropped from the Test side for the tour of West Indies but has roared back into contention with centuries in his last two Sheffield Shield matches for Queensland.Green’s injury was diagnosed as “low grade” but Australia are not taking any chances with him ahead of the Ashes, which start in six weeks. “Cameron Green has been ruled out of the (India) series having experienced low-grade side soreness at training this week,” Cricket Australia said.“Green will complete a short period of rehabilitation and is tracking to return to play in round three of the Sheffield Shield to continue his preparation for the Ashes.”Round three of the domestic competition is due to start on October 28. Labuschagne will join the ODI squad once the current Sheffield Shield round finishes this weekend.Cricket Australia said Friday Green had been ruled out of the ODI series after having “low grade side soreness” in training and would likely return to play in Shield cricket.The all-rounder joins Pat Cummins on the sidelines, with the regular skipper struggling to shake off lower back bone stress which has put him in doubt for the start of the Ashes.Australia will also be without regular wicketkeeper Alex Carey for the Perth opener against India along with spinner Adam Zampa.Josh Philippe will be behind the stumps, while left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann gets a rare chance in the one-day side in Zampa’s absence.The ODIs precede a five-match T20I series starting in Canberra on October 29 as both nations tune up for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.