Rohit Sharma is just two catches away from surpassing Sourav Ganguly (99) in the list of most ODI catches by an Indian. The veteran failed with the bat as India suffered a seven-wicket loss to Australia in the rain-hit first ODI at Perth.
Former India skipper Rohit Sharma is on the verge of surpassing Sourav Ganguly on the list of most catches by an Indian in ODI history. Ganguly finished his career with 99 catches, while Rohit currently sits on 98. The milestone could be crossed during the ongoing ODI series against Australia, with Rohit needing only two catches. Overall, Ganguly currently stands sixth on the list, behind Virat Kohli, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina.
Meanwhile, Rohitโs form with the bat is slightly concerning. Since the end of the Champions Trophy, the veteran hasnโt featured in international cricket, especially as the cricketer has retired from Test and T20Is. On his return against Australia at the Perth Stadium, Rohit made just eight runs before Josh Hazlewood got the better of him.
Most cartches by an Indian in ODIs
| Player | Catches |
| Virat Kohli | 161 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 156 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 140 |
| Rahul Dravid | 124 |
| Suresh Raina | 102 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 99 |
| Rohit Sharma | 98 |
India suffer a seven-wicket defeat
In a rain-affected game, which saw multiple breaks, India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI. Along with Rohit, Kohli too flopped, failing to open his tally. Shreyas Iyer, who was recently made the new vice-captain of the ODI ser-up, flopped too, scoring just 11 runs off 24 balls. KL Rahul and Axar Patel, on the other hand, managed to keep the scoreboard ticking as India posted 136 runs on the board in the first innings.
Australia were handed a revised target of 131 runs, which they chased rather comfortably. Captain Mitchell Marsh led the proceedings, scoring an unbeaten 36 to win the game for the team. Meanwhile, several key players were missing for Australia, but even so, the hosts managed to get the job done rather comfortably.ย
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe (wk), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood