BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla has heaped praise on Indian batting legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after their heroic performances in the third ODI against England at Lord’s, despite India losing the series-deciding match by 27 runs.
Rohit smashed a magnificent 138 off 110 balls, his 34th ODI century, becoming the first Indian to score an ODI hundred at Lord’s. He also registered the highest individual ODI score by an Indian against England in England. Kohli contributed a fluent 74 off 60 balls, and the duo added 113 runs for the second wicket—their 21st century partnership in ODIs.
‘They proved once again that they are strong batsmen and still have the power in them,’ Shukla told ANI. ‘In my opinion, the biggest highlights today were the batting of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, followed by Shubman Gill.’
However, England’s late onslaught proved too much. Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 41 off 13 balls and Joe Root’s 74 helped England post a record 387/3, the highest ODI total at Lord’s. India finished at 360/7, with Sam Curran taking four wickets to seal the series 2-1 for England.
Shukla acknowledged the defeat, saying, ‘They ended up scoring too many runs—they made 60 runs in the last three overs—and that was a bit of a shortcoming.’ Despite the loss, he expressed confidence in the team combination.
Article and image source: afghanistansun.com
