Rohit smashes mammoth ton to topple Australia

India's opener, Rohit Sharma, smashed a career-best score of 141 to help his side beat Australia by nine wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday.

India's batsmen needed to attack from the start in order to chase a daunting 360-run target set by Australia. Rohit and partner Shikhar Dhawan did just that and brought up India's 50 from 50 balls and 100 from 98 balls.

Rohit was the more sedate of the two and looked to give Dhawan, who was in blistering form, the strike. But when the opportunity came up, Rohit was strong through and over the covers against the quicks.

Dhawan and Rohit racked up 176 for the opening wicket in 26.1 overs before the former fell for 95. Dhawan's departure didn't affect the tempo of India's innings as Virat Kohli stepped into the fray and looked to attack.

Rohit and Kohli continued to make the most of the helpful batting conditions and wayward bowling on offer. Rohit played second fiddle in both partnerships, but was always in control of the situation. He took just 102 deliveries for his century, which ended his three-year-long century drought.

The pair put on 186 for the second wicket in only 17.2 overs and took their side home, comfortably, with 39 balls remaining.

"It's the best chase I've been part of in the five, six years that I've played," Rohit said. "I hope we continue from here as this is just the second game of the series. We've still got five more games to go. We cannot get complacent here.

"It was important to keep wickets in hand because we knew the dew factor would come in. But chasing 360 is never easy. We held our nerves and played according to the situation and we capitalised on the loose balls. We needed a big partnership and that's what happened. In these big chases, we need big partnerships and that's exactly what we did today."

Australia's captain, George Bailey, said that the loss was deflating but credited India's batsmen for a remarkable display.

"It's deflating, regardless of how many more matches to go, but I think India batted beautifully. From the moment Virat came to the crease, he really took the tempo up, which was a good effort. It was a smart move from him as it meant that Rohit didn't have to take any risks."