Australia captain Mitchell Marsh lavished praise on India's batting duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the first ODI which is scheduled to take place on October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia marks the return of batting duo Rohit and Virat for the first time since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand.
"I had the privilege of playing against them quite a lot through the journey. They are obviously legends of the game. Virat, especially in this white-ball format, is the greatest chaser ever" said Mitchell Marsh
Virat Kohli's ODI performance against Australia
Virat Kohli has played 50 ODIs against Australia, where he smashed 2451 runs with a highest score of 123 runs at an average of 54.46, including eight tons and 15 half-centuries. The batting maestro played 29 ODIs in Australia, where he scored 1327 runs, including five centuries and six half-centuries. Notably, Kohli needs 54 runs to surpass Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs) and become the second-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket history, behind only Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs). Kohli currently has 14,181 ODI runs at an average exceeding 57, the highest among batters with more than 10,000 runs.
Mitchell Marsh for India vs Australia ticket sales
Marsh credited Rohit and Virat for the high sales of India vs Australia tickets. He hopes that India's legendary duo don't go overboard with their performances against Australia.
"I think you can see why the ticket sales are so high and why a lot of people are coming to watch them. And if it is their last time on Australian soil, I hope they enjoy it and I hope people can witness, not too much great cricket from them, but witness two of the greats playing in Australia," Mitchell Marsh told the media.
Rohit Sharma's ODI stats against Australia
Rohit Sharma has played 46 ODIs against Australia, where he smashed 2407 runs at an average of 57.30, including eight centuries and nine half-centuries. The white ball great smashed 194 fours and 88 maximums against Australia. Rohit's last ODI outing against Australia came in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
India's ODI squad against Australia
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.