Australia versus India, 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma's century in vain as Australia beat India by 34 runs 

Australia defeated India by 34 runs in the first one-day international match played at Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. Half-centuries by Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and a quick-fire knock by Stonis helped Australia post a decent total. In reply, apart from Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, none of the Indian batsmen contributed, and the side lost the match.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bat first. The Indian team got off to a perfect start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Australian captain Aaron Finch for 6 runs. It was a good bowling effort by India's new ball bowlers. Kuldeep Yadav struck to dismiss Alex Carey for 24. Australia scored 41 for 2 at end of 10 overs.

Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh steadied the Australian innings taking singles, hitting bad balls away for boundaries. Both of them played Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja decently. Usman Khawaja reached his half-century off 70 balls. Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership by dismissing Usman Khawaja for 59 runs.

Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh added 92 runs for the 3rd wicket. Shaun Marsh reached his half-century off 65 balls while Handscomb played with positive intent. Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Shaun Marsh for 54 ending 53 runs partnership for 4th wicket.

Peter Handscomb made batting look easy while Marcus Stoinis took time to settle. Handscomb reached his half-century off 50 balls and put on 68 runs for the 5th wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Handscomb for well made 73. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell added 34 runs in quick time to help Australia post 288 for 5 in 50 overs. For India, Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 wickets each.

Chasing 289 runs to win, India got off to a disastrous start losing wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, Indian captain Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu at the score of 4. Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni played with caution and were in serious trouble at 21 for 3 after first 10 overs.

After the power play overs, both batsmen took singles and hit bad balls away for boundaries. Rohit Sharma reached his half-century off 62 balls while MS Dhoni took time to reach his 50 off 92 balls. MS Dhoni was dismissed soon after reaching his fifty. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma added 137 runs for the 4th wicket.

Dinesh Karthik could not score at a quick pace but Rohit Sharma reached his 22nd ODI century off 110 balls. Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja could not score many runs as they were dismissed cheaply. Rohit Sharma tried his best to help India win the match but was dismissed for 133 off 129 balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar remained not out on 29. India ended on 254 for 9 at the end of 50 overs. Australia won the match by 34 runs.

Australia 288 for 5 in 50 overs (Handscomb 73, Khawaja 59, Shaun Marsh 54, Kuldeep Yadav 2/54, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/66) beat India 254 for 9 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 133, MS Dhoni 51, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 29*, Jhye Richardson 4/29, Behrendorff 2/39) by 34 runs.

Australia takes a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series. The 2nd ODI will be played at Adelaide Oval on 15th January.