Rohit Sharma’s scintillating unbeaten 171 went in vain as Australia rode on skipper Steve Smith’s fluent 149 to script a comfortable five-wicket victory in a high-scoring first one-dayer here on Tuesday.
On one of the flattest WACA tracks in recent times, India scored a commanding 309 for three courtesy Rohit’s brilliant strokeplay but the target seemed insufficient against the hosts, who relied on centuries by Smith and George Bailey (112) to overhaul the target in 49.2 overs.
Rohit’s 163-ball knock was the best by an Indian today while vice-captain Virat Kohli also impressed with 91-run effort as the duo added 207 runs for second wicket.
But India’s poor bowling allowed the Australians to clinch a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Smith, who faced 163 balls, added a staggering 242 runs for the third wicket with another former captain Bailey as the home team knocked off the runs with ease.
While it was another heartbreaking end to a Rohit century that ended in a losing cause (his T20 hundred and ODI hundred against SA were scored in defeats), Australian skipper Smith again turned out to be India’s nemesis pacing his innings to perfection.
The Indian bowling attack looked completely out of depth as the Smith-Bailey duo never did anything extraordinary but still managed to hammer Umesh Yadav and co with monotonic regularity.
For India, debutant Barinder Sran (3/56) managed to create an impression with early breakthroughs but the other bowlers failed to join the party.
Especially disappointing were India’s spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin (2/68 in 9 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (0/61 in 9 overs) looked far from penetrative.
They could hardly extract any turn and were played with consummate ease by the Aussie captain, whose footwork was exemplary. Smith hit 11 fours and 2 sixes en route his fifth ODI ton while Bailey’s third hundred had seven fours and two sixes.
While Australia were 21 for two in the fifth over, things could have taken a different turn as Bailey looked to have gloved the first delivery he faced bowled by Sran. While Dhoni looked confident, Sran did not even go up with an appeal.
Bailey’s reprieve really cost India, but a lack of DRS couldn’t be blamed for this defeat. Along with Smith, he went about rebuilding the innings patiently and kept the scorecard ticking, looking to set the stage for a grandstand finish.
They brought up their 50-partnership in only 59 balls, and were particularly severe on the spinners. Rohit (0-11) had been introduced in the 12th over but that experiment didn’t work out.
Smith and Bailey motored on then, bringing up their 100-stand off 107 balls. Smith reached his half-century off 55 balls, but Bailey had already over-taken him by then, getting there in 60 balls himself.
He was the first to reach the three-figure mark as well, scoring his third ODI hundred off 106 balls. Smith then brought up his fifth ODI hundred off 97 balls as the duo celebrated their 200-partnership off 197 balls.
Ashwin struck twice, removing Bailey and Glenn Maxwell (6) both caught in the deep off over-pitched deliveries. Sran then removed Smith just before the finish.
Earlier, Rohit smashed his way to 171 as India piled up an imposing 309 for 3 against Australia after Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss.
En route his ninth ODI hundred, the stylish right-hander from Mumbai broke a plethora of records, including the one where he surpassed Sir Vivian Richards’ 153 which has been the highest individual score against Australia in an ODI Down Under for last 37 years.
Their partnership was the highest second for India against Australia in the ODIs surpassing the previous best of 199 set by Sachin Tendulkar and VVS laxman in Indore back in 2001.
The Rohit-Kohli combination tore apart an inexperienced Australian attack as their debutant duo of left-arm fast bowler Joel Paris (0/53 in 8 overs) and right arm medium fast Scott Boland (0/74 in 10 overs) were taken to the cleaners.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (9) and Rohit had a tough ask during the start as dense clouds had gathered over the WACA.
Josh Hazlewood (1-41) got off to a wayward start and Rohit capitalised on it in style. At the other end, local boy Paris (0-53) made a decent start to his international career, but then the Indian openers got the better off him too.
Kohli then walked in and the Australian bowlers weren’t given a breath of relief. The partnership got off to a cautious start, especially as the new batsman looked to settle in. But the two batsmen ran hard between the wickets, and Rohit got the boundaries easily, his swivel-six off Paris a highlight.
Kohli looked determined to improve his poor record against the hosts in their den, and Australia’s one-dimensional attack didn’t look like stopping him either.
Their 50-partnership came off only 68 balls. Rohit reached his fifty off 63 balls in the 20th over and brought up the 100-mark in the 22nd over.
Rohit crossed the 150-mark off 155 balls, and in doing so, crossed 1000 ODI runs against Australia in 19 innings, one less than Sachin Tendulkar.
Rohit as good as anybody: Ganguly
Kolkata: Showering praise on Sharma, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said the opener is as good as anybody in the world but wondered why he was not able to translate his limited overs performances in Test cricket.
“I’ve seen his full innings. He was exceptional today. He is a terrific one day player and it surprises me that he does not turn this performances in Tests,” Ganguly said.
“In one day cricket, at the top of the order, he’s as good as anybody in the world. He’s too young to judge at the moment but he’s outstanding. He makes the game look easy when he gets going. But when he gets out you feel why did he get out. He is an amazing player in the shorter format of the game. This knock was absolutely brilliant.”
However, the total proved to be insufficient for India as Australia scripted a five-wicket win with centuries from George Bailey and skipper Steve Smith to go 1-0 up.
“Honestly, I thought India would win today after getting 309 but I’m sure they would be very disappointed for not being able to defend such a big total. (Defending) 310 is a lot of runs on any wicket in world.”
Khawaja, hastings called up
Usman Khawaja has been drafted into the Australia squad for the ongoing ODI series against India in place of David Warner whose wife is expecting second child. Khawaja will join squad in Brisbane and, at this stage, will remain for matches two and three of five-game series, at Gabba on Jan 15, and at MCG on Jan 17.
All-rounder John Hastings will replace Marsh who will be rested for the second ODI before rejoining the squad for third match at Melbourne.