India's batting legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were spotted celebrating Diwali with their teammates in Adelaide, just two days before the second ODI against Australia, which is slated to be played on October 23. Team India players were seen arriving at a popular local restaurant for a team dinner to mark the festival.
RO-KO-led Team India’s Diwali dinner in Adelaide goes viral, watch video here
Both Rohit and Kohli finally returned to international cricket after an almost six-month break in the first ODI last week. However, they failed to make an impact with the bat on their much-anticipated ODI return. While Rohit scored 8 off 14 balls, Kohli recorded an eight-ball duck. Despite the disappointing result in that match, the team appeared to be in good spirits on Diwali night as they headed out for dinner. Besides Kohli and Rohit, the group included captain Shubman Gill and his deputy Shreyas Iyer, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar. According to 7News Adelaide, the team visited the British Raj restaurant in Torrensville, which is renowned locally for serving authentic Indian cuisine.
Australia condemn India to 7-wicket defeat in Perth
Meanwhile, questions have arisen over the long-term roles of Rohit and Virat within the Indian team, particularly with the 2027 ODI World Cup still two years away.
Talking about the series opener, India ended up losing the first ODI against Australia by seven wickets in Perth. Their batting effort was severely disrupted by multiple rain stoppages, which broke their rhythm. While the bowling unit, featuring players like Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel, failed to impress, it is worth noting that they were given a meager total of just 136 runs to defend.
All eyes are now on the second ODI, which is scheduled to be played in Adelaide on October 23. While India will eye a comeback in order to keep the series alive, Australia will look to wrap things up by winning the Adelaide encounter.