The second-biggest roar of the night at the SCG came when Indian great Virat Kohli got off the mark with a single in what is likely to be his final match on Australian soil.
After consecutive ducks in Perth and Adelaide, arguably the greatest ODI batsman of all-time was given a rock star reception as he nudged a run into the leg side and celebrated with a tongue-in-cheek fist pump.
As former Indian coach Ravi Shastri joked with Kohli after the match, he was “out of the pond”.
Just over an hour later, the loudest cheer of all was again for Kohli (74 from 81), who alongside century-maker Rohit Sharma (121 from 125), helped steer India to a dominant victory with an unbeaten 168-run partnership that got them to a target of 237 with 69 balls to spare and nine wickets in the bank.
Australia, already assured of a series win, were completely outclassed after being dismissed for 236 in 46.4 overs. A crowd of 40,580 - mostly Indian fans - watched in awe as Rohit and Kohli wound back the clock with two clinical innings after the early loss of Shubman Gill (24 from 26) in the 11th over.
In the previous nine ODIs at the SCG, the team batting first had won. India were sent into the field after losing their 18th ODI toss in a row. The odds of that happening are one in 262,144.
But Rohit and Kohli had other ideas as they worked the gaps, ran hard and kept risk to a minimum with just three sixes between them at strike rates of just under a run a ball. If they never play another match in Australia, it was a wonderful way to go out.
“Good to be out of the pond,” Kohli said on Fox. “You’ve scored so many runs in international cricket but then … [then at] almost 37 and I didn’t feel like I could get a run. It’s so challenging when it’s not going your way. When Rohit is batting, it’s easy to rotate strike. Great to have a match-finishing partnership.”
Earlier this year, the SCG was not a happy place for the pair. Rohit pulled out of the final match of the Border-Gavaskar series after a lean run with the bat, while Kohli didn’t play another Test after being dismissed for 17 and six by Scott Boland on both occasions. India lost the Test and surrendered the series 3-1.
On Saturday evening, they batted with freedom and showed the class that has made them such formidable white ball batsmen for well over a decade.
“I’ve always loved coming here,” Rohit said. “Fond memories of 2008 and a nice way to finish getting that knock and win as well. I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia but it was fun all these years we played here.”
Matt Renshaw (56 from 58) was the pick of Australia’s top six, who all made scores of 23 or more but failed to go big.
At 3-183 in the 34th over, Australia were poised for a total close to 300, before losing 7-53 and being bowled out with 20 balls remaining.
Renshaw felt he “couldn’t hit them off the square” but his maiden ODI half century is good timing.
He will play in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield clash with the Blues, starting on Tuesday at the Gabba.
Another couple of good innings there and his case for a Test recall will be even stronger.
“It’s the same cricket ball. It’s just a different colour,” Renshaw said. “Hopefully, I can score some runs in the next Shield game and win a game for Queensland.
“As someone who’s new to the ODI frame, watching two of the greatest go about it was actually a really good lesson for me to take notes in those middle overs.
“I felt like I could get off strike, but couldn’t hit any boundaries. Frustrating, but another positive day for me.
“It could have been a tricky chase, but they just took the game out of our control.”