NEW DELHI: Rohit SharmaA brilliant century in the third ODI against England at Lord’s ended in a lost cause, but the India opener took time out to talk about his special partnership with Virat Kohli after the match. Rohit’s 138 from 110 balls kept India in the hunt for England’s 387/3, but the visitors eventually fell 27 runs short and lost the series 2-1.During the innings, Rohit and Kohli once again stitched an important partnership. The two have now scored over 8,000 runs together in ODIs and recorded their 21st century stand, the second highest for 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 together.Speaking in a video shared by the BCCI, Rohit said their long journey together helped build a special understanding in the middle.“We played our whole career together. So, you know, it was nice to have him in the middle. We had a lot of partnerships. It’s always fun batting together. We understand each other a lot. And yes, it’s always nice in the middle, bouncing ideas, try and see what we can do. So, there was a lot of conversation, when we were saying, “when we were fighting.Rohit and Kohli already hold the record for the most international matches played together by an Indian pair, having gone past Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s record of 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 enjoys playing in England because of the challenge the conditions offer.“Yes, look, I love playing in England. There’s no doubt about it. The atmosphere, the ground, the pitches. When you come back here to play 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’ve had my time in the middle.The India opener admitted that the team was disappointed after failing to finish the chase but stressed the importance of improving as a unit.“We can’t finish the game and get the result in our favor. But yes, we have to move on from this and try and see how we can get better. And see what better we can do as a group. Not just individuals. It’s about the group. The collective effort from the group is necessary. And this is what I think the team should focus on,” he said.