Old is gold: Kohli and Rohit shine bright

NEW DELHI, Dec 7 : Age may not be on their side, but Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are busy proving they are not a spent force yet in the one international format they still call home.

Speculation has been rife about their future, yet both Kohli, 37, and Rohit, 38, show no signs of slowing down in the twilight of their illustrious careers.

Freed from the grind of test cricket and the frenzy of T20 internationals, India's elder statesmen have focused their craft on ODIs - and the returns are emphatic.

Kohli's last four ODI knocks - 74 not out, 135, 102 and 65 not out - tell a story of resurgence capped by a player-of-the-series award against South Africa.

Rohit, looking surefooted and leaner, has stacked four 50-plus scores in his last five outings.

Kohli explained the feeling with characteristic clarity.

"Honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me," he said after steering India to a 2-1 series victory against South Africa on Saturday.

"I don't think I've played at this level for a good two to three years now, and I feel really free in my mind and just the whole game is coming together nicely."

"I know when I can bat like that out there in the middle, it helps the team in a big way because I can bat long, I can bat according to the situation...I have what it takes to handle that situation and bring it in favour of the team."

Their presence has enabled younger players in the squad to learn from the masters and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is among the beneficiaries.

On Saturday, Jaiswal played second fiddle in his 155-run opening stand with Rohit and then had the pleasure of watching Kohli's flawless ball-striking from the other end as India clinically chased down a 271-run target with