NEW DELHI: Rohit SharmaA brilliant century in the third ODI against England at Lord’s ended badly, but the Indian opener took time out to talk about his special relationship with Virat Kohli after the game. Rohit’s 138 off 110 balls helped India chase down England’s 387/3, but the visitors fell short for 27 and lost the series 2-1.During the innings, Rohit and Kohli also forged an important partnership. The pair have now scored more than 8,000 runs together in ODIs and registered their 21st century record, the second most by any pair in ODI history behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly’s 26. The Lord’s ODI also marked another milestone as Rohit and Kohli became the first Indian duo to play 400 international matches together.Speaking in a video shared by BCCI, Rohit said their long journey together has helped create a special understanding between them.“We played our whole career together. So, you know, it was good to have him in the middle. We’ve had a lot of relationships. It’s always fun to fight together. We understand each other a lot. And yeah, it’s always good to be in the middle, fight mentally, try to see what we can do. So, there were a lot of conversations going around the middle when Rohi was batting.Rohit and Kohli already hold the record for most international matches played together by an Indian duo, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s 391 matches.Overall, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene lead the list with 550 matches together, followed by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jayawardene (426). Rohit and Kohli are now seventh on the all-time list with 400 appearances.Rohit said that he has always loved playing in England because of the challenges it offers.“Yeah, look, I love playing in England. There’s no doubt about it. The atmosphere, the ground, the pitches. When you come here to play in any type of country, it challenges you in different ways. And that’s what, as a cricketer, you want. You want to be challenged all the time. And yes, I had my moments in between. I enjoyed it, but I said a little more.The Indian opener admitted that the team was disappointed after failing to complete the chase but stressed the importance of performing well as a unit.“We couldn’t finish the game and get a good result. But yeah, we have to get away from this and try to see how we can be better. And see what we can do better as a team. Not individually. It’s about the team. The effort of the team is needed. And that’s what I think the team should focus on,” he said.