Rohit Sharma silences critics with masterclass century against Australia

Rohit Sharma put all doubts to rest with a brilliant century in the third and final ODI against Australia. There had been plenty of speculation around his place in the team and whether he would feature in the 2027 World Cup.

After a cheap dismissal in the first ODI, Rohit faced renewed scrutiny, especially with young talent like Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings. In the second ODI, after early dismissals of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, Rohit played a composed innings of 73 off 97 balls. He stitched together a crucial 118-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer, helping India recover from a tricky situation. At that stage, Rohit was still finding his rhythm, but his experience and temperament shone through.

Stripped of his ODI captaincy before the series, with Shubman Gill taking over as the new captain, Rohit responded with authority in the third ODI. He scored a brilliant 100 off 105 balls, forming a solid partnership with Virat

Kohli

. The pair added a 100-run stand for the first time since January 2020 in any format, showing that the Rohit-Kohli combination is still a force to reckon with. This was Rohit’s 50th century in all international cricket: 12 in Tests, 33 in ODIs, and five in T20Is.

He is the only batter to have five or more hundreds in each of the three formats. His century also adds to his record of the most ODI hundreds by a visiting batter in Australia (six), ahead of Virat Kohli (five) and Kumar Sangakkara (five). Against Australia specifically, this was his ninth ODI hundred, tying him with Sachin Tendulkar.Most ODI 100s against an opposition10 Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka9 Virat Kohli vs West Indies9 Sachin Tendulkar vs Australia9 Rohit Sharma vs AustraliaRohit and Kohli are also among the top partnerships in ODI history, with 19 100+ stands, just behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (26). Against Australia, they have 11 50+ partnerships, equalling the record of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Individually, Rohit has 55 scores of 50 or more in ODI chases, while Kohli leads with 70, proving that experience and class can still dominate even under pressure.