Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the modern-day stalwarts of the Men in Blue, equalled a colossal Indian record held by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid during the final ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
FOLLOW | IND vs AUS 3rd ODI LIVE
Kohli, appearing in his 305th ODI, and Rohit, playing in his 276th one-day international, combined for their 391st match together across formats. The duo equalled the Indian record for the most matches played by a pair across formats, levelling with the legendary Tendulkar-Dravid combo, who appeared in a whopping 391 games between 1996 and 2012.
Rohit Sharma debuted for India in 2007, a year before Virat Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008—a match in which Rohit was already part of the final XI. The two Indian legends went on to play all three formats together until 2024, jointly retiring from T20Is after their victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
1
Virat Kohli / Rohit Sharma
1
Sachin Tendulkar / Rahul Dravid
3
Rahul Dravid / Sourav Ganguly
4
Sachin Tendulkar / Anil Kumble
5
Sachin Tendulkar / Sourav Ganguly
6
Virat Kohli / Ravindra Jadeja
Indian Express InfoGenIE
Tendulkar began his ODI career in 1989, seven years before Dravid made his India debut in 1996, with Tendulkar being part of the playing XI for Dravid’s first game. Their final match together came in 2012. While Dravid announced his international retirement following the 2011/12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Tendulkar played on until November 2013. Interestingly, both had limited T20I exposure, with Tendulkar playing one game in 2006 and Dravid playing one in 2011.
Kohli-Rohit Breakdown
- Tests: 60 matches
- ODIs: 225 matches
- T20Is: 106 matches
Tendulkar-Dravid Breakdown
- Tests: 146 matches
- ODIs: 245 matches
Overall, Sri Lanka legends Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara have played the most international matches together, representing the national team in a staggering 550 games.
Kohli and Rohit’s ODI future
After having a mixed tour thus far in Australia, the combined futures of Kohli and Rohit remain uncertain in the 50-over format. While Kohli bagged successive ducks in Perth and Adelaide for the first time in his career, Rohit fought his way through a rusty patch in the second ODI after falling for eight in the first game. Rohit scored his slowest fifty since 2014 in Adelaide and recorded a 73-run knock which helped India post a 264-run total after losing Kohli and captain Shubman Gill early. However, India suffered a two-wicket defeat and stare at the possibility of suffering their first-ever ODI whitewash loss to Australia.
