Rohit marked the occasion with a sensational 138 off 110 balls, producing a memorable innings amid widespread speculation about his future in international cricket. In a throwback to their best days, Rohit and Kohli stitched together a 113-run partnership off just 86 balls, with Kohli contributing a fluent 74 off 60 deliveries during India’s chase of 388.
The pair appeared to have India’s pursuit under control before Rohit’s dismissal to Jacob Bethell triggered a late collapse.
Speaking about batting alongside his long-time teammate, Rohit said their deep understanding of each other’s game makes their partnerships special.
“We’ve played our entire career together, so it was nice to have him in the middle. We’ve had a lot of partnerships. It’s always fun batting together because we understand each other so much. It’s always nice in the middle, bouncing ideas off each other and trying to see what we can do. There was a lot of conversation going on between us while we were batting,” Rohit told the BCCI.
The Mumbai batter entered the match after scoring just 11 and 26 in the first two ODIs. However, amid growing retirement speculation, he delivered a stunning performance and became the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s.
Rohit also insisted that outside noise does not affect his approach to the game.
“My job is with the bat—to come and play and represent my country and the team. That’s what I’ve been told to do since I made my debut, and that’s what I’m going to do. The noise has been there since I made my debut and will always be there as long as I’m here. It doesn’t really matter too much,” he said.
“What matters is what I do on the field and how I contribute to the success of the team. That’s all my focus is right now. Let the noise be there. There’s no noise, there’s no fun. My job is inside and their job is outside. That’s how I look at it,” the veteran added.
Potentially playing his final match in England, Rohit finished the tour as the highest-scoring overseas batter in ODIs in the country, with 1,630 runs in 30 innings at an average of 64.12. His eight ODI centuries in England also place him joint-second alongside Marcus Trescothick.
