India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma’s tryst with ill luck continues in Australia

After Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane the iconic stadium in Sydney has now been added to the list of venues in Australia where Rohit scored a ton for India but the hosts ended up being on the winning side.

Vice-captain Rohit Sharma struck a magnificent century but it wasn’t enough to power India to a victory in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday.

India's batsman Rohit Sharma walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the first one-day international (ODI) match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. (AFP)

This is not the first time that Rohit has hit a century against Australia in their backyard and tasted defeat. In fact, this was the fourth such instance when the ‘Hitman’ had to endure such bad luck.

After Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane the iconic stadium in Sydney has now been added to the list of venues in Australia where Rohit scored a ton for India but the hosts ended up being on the winning side.

138 at MCG in 2015: India lost by four wickets

171* at Perth in 2016: India lost by five wickets

124 at Brisbane in 2016: India lost by seven wickets

133 at SCG in 2019: India lost by 34 runs

In total, Rohit has now scored five ODI centuries Down Under and he became the first Indian to achieve this feat. Four of these centuries have come against Australia while one he scored against Bangladesh at the 2015 World Cup.

Rohit, who scored his seventh century against Australia, has the second most centuries against the Baggy Greens. The leader of this list is Sachin Tendulkar with nine centuries. Rohit notched his 20th century as an opener and his 10th during chases in ODIs.