NEW DELHI: Rohit SharmaA brilliant century in the third ODI against England at Lord’s ended in a losing cause, but the India opener took time out to talk about his special partnership with Virat Kohli: after the match. Rohit’s 138 off 110 balls kept India in England’s chase of 387/3, but the visitors eventually fell by 27 runs and lost the series 2-1.During the innings, Rohit and Kohli once again stitched an important partnership. The two have now scored more than 8,000 runs together in ODIs and registered their 21st century stand, 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 pair to play 400 international matches.Speaking in a video shared by the BCCI, Rohit said that their long journey together helped create a special understanding between them.“We’ve played our whole career together. So, you know, it’s nice to have him in the middle. We have a lot of partnerships. It’s always fun to be together. We understand each other. And yeah, it’s always nice in the middle, bounce ideas, try and see what we can do. So, there’s a lot of conversations around the middle of our batting,” said Rohit.Rohit and Kohli already hold the record for most international matches played by an Indian pair, 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 he always enjoyed playing in England because of the challenge the conditions offered.“Yes, 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 kind of format, 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 have time in between. I enjoy it.The India opener admitted the team was disappointed after failing to complete the chase but stressed the importance of developing as a unit.“We can’t finish the game and get the result in our favor. But yes, we have to move on from it and try and see how we can be better. And see how much better we can do as a group. Not just individuals. It’s about the group. The collective effort from the group is necessary. And that’s what I think the team should focus on,” he said.