Rohit and Kohli: They came, they dominated, and they left as the focus now is set upon the T20i series and T20 WC.
Rohit and Kohli take centre stage before receding to the background.
He’s looked like that previously. “Do bachchon ka baap” would have helped Samaira and Ahaan prepare their father for Saturday, when Kuldeep Yadav desired Lungi Ngidi’s wicket even if he hadn’t fully earned it because he saw something sparkling.
The ball appeared to be spinning excessively. It was so clear to Rohit Sharma that he was staring at Kuldeep as if the left-arm wristspinner were one of his babies having a tantrum at the time India was debating whether or not to review. “Kya? “Pad par laga out hai?”
The dressing room was set up for this decisive match following the 2-0 setback in the Test series. When India eventually prevailed in a toss, KL Rahul was eager to capitalise on the victory. In order to defeat Aiden Markram and Matthew Breetzke, he was quite picky about which end Prasidh Krishna would bowl from. He was also keen to speak with everyone before the beginning of their spell and work out plans. He was also quite meticulous when it came to field placement. At long-on, he once ordered Virat Kohli to shift to his left, and Marco Jansen smacked the subsequent ball directly along that line.
However, all of the tension had subsided by that 43rd over, when South Africa was 252 for 8. In particular, Rohit was having a great time. He had already shown off his slimmer side. In order to prohibit Dewald Brevis from getting a boundary at rearward point, he made a quick stop.
From the 2023 World Cup to the 2025 Champions Trophy, Rohit dominated India’s batting lineup. In the first ten overs, he made just 24% of defensive shots. He has been more reserved since the Australia ODIs, when he had given up all other forms of cricket and was pursuing his aim of playing in the 2027 World Cup. In the first ten overs, 40% of his shots had turned defensive.
Yashasvi Jaiswal appeared at ease taking those early risks against South Africa despite the difficult conditions in Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney. This allowed the remainder of the batting lineup to concentrate on and post dew-proof totals batting first. When Rohit was constantly producing daddy hundreds, he used to play a lot like this. Given the state of his career and the objective he has set for himself, has he gone back to type?
Rohit quickly caught up to the pace in the two half-centuries he scored this week. When the necessary rate was less than five, he was dismissed for 75 off 73 in Visakhapatnam while trying to go big. That person doesn’t appear to be focused on their own needs.
Nearly oblivious to the audience of over 27,000 people cheering him off, Rohit left the pitch staring down at his bat at the location that caused the mis-hit. About halfway through, they understood they wanted to create a new atmosphere.
Kohli was entering.
For a hat-trick of centuries to be feasible, India had knocked off too much of the target. However, this sequence of 135, 102, and 65* demonstrated his problem-solving skills, much as in 2018, when he was 29 and at his best, scoring 140, 157*, and 107.
He and Rohit will both fade into the background now that India has won this series 2-1. The T20I team’s World Cup preparation will come into focus. The coaching staff is relieved. They don’t have to respond to enquiries about whether their two superstars can continue to play as little as they do for the next two years. To their credit, each time they have been asked to look into the crystal ball, they have not jammed their fingers in their ears and gone la-la-la-la.
Starting on January 3, Kohli and Rohit will play domestic cricket at the Vijay Hazare Trophy in order to maintain their chances of making the ODI squad. Then there’s the New Zealand series, which consists of just three games because we’re in the T20 World Cup cycle. After that, and after that, and after that, and after that, and on and on, practically everything needs to go smoothly.
And it did here, with Kohli controlling all he sees as soon as he gets up to the crease, including Saturday’s chase, and Rohit demonstrating the time he still has against quick bowling, the ease with which he throttles up and down, the 360+ ODI sixes, and the 20,000+ international runs. This series brought fairy-tale logic and real reality together.