Rohit Sharma's 138 lifts India to 267/8 against Australia

Rohit Sharma

Melbourne, Jan 18 (IANS) Rohit Sharma's 138 lifted India to 267 for eight against Australia in their first One-Day International (ODI) match of the tri-series here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.

Left-handed batsman Suresh Raina scored 51 and put up a 126-run partnership with the right-hander Rohit for the fourth wicket.

Earlier, Mitchell Starc dismissed Shikhar Dhawan in the first over of the innings. Dhawan looked all at sea against the left-arm pacer and was out after edging to slip off the fourth delivery he faced. Starc seems to be making a habit of getting rid off opposition batsmen in the first over, having dismissed Ian Bell and James Taylor in the first over against England on Friday.

India’s batting stars in the recently-concluded Test series – Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli – couldn’t do much and were back in the pavillion after scoring just 12 and 9 respectively.

After Dhoni was dismissed for a 31-ball 19, we saw a collapse from the Indian lower order which has been a regular feature over the past couple of years. The visitors managed to score just 30 overs from the final 5 overs as Starc ended the innings with career-best figures of 6/43.