Virat will take the team forward for a long time: MS Dhoni

“Virat is somebody that we'll have to look up to in the future, because he's somebody who will take the team forward for a long time," Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

India got off to a shaky start in the 3rd ODI, losing the in-form Rohit Sharma in the fifth over. But Kohli, with support from Shikhar Dhawan (68) and Ajinkya Rahane (50), took India to a fighting total of 295. Although his innings of 117 runs was not enough to stop the Australians from taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, he became the quickest batsman to reach 24 centuries and 7,000 runs in ODIs.

This was the third time in the ODI series where an Indian batsman has scored a century in a losing cause – Rohit Sharma in the opening two matches, followed by Kohli in the third. However, Dhoni has praised Kohli's efforts, and feels he is the best India have, alongside Rohit, in the limited overs format.

“He has consistently performed and improved his performance. He is the best amongst the Indian batsmen, along with Rohit in the shorter format. Today the way he paced his innings, it was slightly different to the first two games. But he reads the game really well, which I think, is very important in the middle overs. Virat is somebody that we’ll have to look up to in the future, because he’s somebody who will take the team forward for a long time.

“He (Kohli) is one youngster who has developed really well. I still remember the days when he was part of the side at first, then he was dropped and then he came back in. It was in the Sri Lanka series I remember, and he opened for us and then he batted lower down for us.

“I always felt he was a top-order batsman and once he got the chance he grabbed that opportunity. Nobody even talks about anyone else at that slot which I feel is the good part,” said Dhoni.