Rohit fires India to No.1 ODI ranking
Rohit Sharma struck his 14th one-day international century as India thumped Australia by seven wickets in Nagpur to complete a 4-1 series victory and reclaim top spot in the ICC rankings.
On a slow, dry pitch, India’s spinners and the wily Jasprit Bumrah played key roles in limiting Australia to 242-9, with only 52 runs coming in the last 10 overs as wickets tumbled.
The tourists’ hopes of defending their total were significantly dented when Rohit, who accelerated to 125 from 109 deliveries after a cautious start, shared 124 for the first wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (61).
Rohit then added a further 99 in the company of skipper Virat Kohli (39) and, although both men fell in the 40th over to Adam Zampa, India were able to secure a routine victory with 43 balls unused.
As a result, Kohli’s men regain the number-one ranking they had lost courtesy of Thursday’s loss in Bengaluru.
Jai Hind! #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Cc2yR9cRd5
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 1, 2017
After choosing to bat, Australia were given a good platform by openers David Warner (53) and Aaron Finch (32), while Travis Head (42) and Marcus Stoinis (46) put on 87 for the fifth wicket.
India were able to keep the run-rate firmly under control, however, and Head’s departure to Axar Patel – the pick of the attack with 3-38 – triggered a collapse that saw Australia lose five for 37 at the end of their innings.
Kuldeep Yadav (0-48) and part-timer Kedar Jadhav (1-48) provided strong support to Axar and Bumrah (2-51) proved typically effective at the death.
In reply, Rohit took 15 balls to get off the mark in the face of fine bowling from Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
However, the experienced opener soon found his stride, enjoying particular success against Zampa and Head as Australia’s slow bowlers struggled to make an impact.
Rahane missed a straight ball from Coulter-Nile to fall lbw in the 23rd over, yet India remained in command and Rohit reached three figures in style by pulling the same bowler for six.
The expensive Zampa gained belated rewards by having Rohit and Kohli caught in the deep, but Jadhav (5 not out) and Manish Pandey (11 not out) saw India over the line with ease.
