India's batting maestros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli etched their names deeper into the history books on July 19, becoming the first pair from their country to feature in 400 international matches together. This historic milestone was officially reached the moment the two batting maestros took the field for the third and final ODI against England at the legendary Lord's Cricket Ground. Having already stepped away from both T20Is and Test cricket, the One-Day International format now stands as the final arena for their enduring international partnership.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's special '400' milestone at Lord's
Their individual statistics reflect the staggering impact they have had on the sport. Kohli has racked up 28,285 international runs across 562 matches in all formats, cementing his place among the top three run-scorers in cricket history. Meanwhile, Sharma’s equally glittering career has yielded 20,289 international runs in 514 matches, underscoring the veteran opener's immense value to the national team over the years.
Combined, this legendary duo has accumulated a monumental 48,574 international runs and hammered 135 centuries. For more than a decade, their collective firepower has served as the backbone of India’s dominance across all formats, making their 400th joint appearance a testament to a golden era in Indian cricket.
The crucial final ODI got underway with England captain Harry Brook winning the toss and choosing to bat first, aiming to put early scoreboard pressure on the visitors at Lord's.
However, India's preparation for the winner-takes-all clash was severely disrupted by an unfortunate fitness update. The Men in Blue suffered a massive pre-match setback when their bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, was officially ruled out of the contest after sustaining a knee injury.
India's playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas lyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.
England's playing XI:
Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue.