Rohit Sharma after his century on Thursday

Hyderabad: Snubbed by the selectors, Rohit Sharma (105) unleashed his pent-up frustration on the Australian bowlers, while Virat Kohli too raised his stake with an identical ton as Board President’s XI finished day one of the warm-up match at a respectable 371 for six wickets on Thursday.

Losing three quick wickets in the morning session put the local favourites in a spot of bother but Rohit forged a 61-run stand with his skipper Yuvraj Singh (29) to stem the rot before plundering another 146 with Kohli to wrest the opening day honour.

Rohit’s effervescent 105 off 144 balls was studded with 12 boundaries and four sixes. Kohli’s identical 105 was the product of his 146-ball stay in the middle, during which he hit 14 boundaries and a six before falling to Brett Lee following a dubious leg before decision.

Onus was on Aakash Chopra (25) and Wasim Jaffer (19) to vindicate Yuvraj’s decision to bat first on a strip that promises a run-feast and they did not start badly either. Occasional discomforts notwithstanding, they went on to put together 41 runs before Stuart Clarke removed Jaffer.

Mitchell Johnson then trapped Chopra too and 10 runs later, S Badrinath (2) fell to Peter Siddle, leaving the side reeling at 59 for three. Yuvraj (29) and Rohit did the bail-out act with aplomb and with two strokeplayers in the middle, the sparse crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was treated to some delectable shots right out of the top drawer.

Yuvraj drove with elegance and timed his shots to perfection but eventually fell to an ugly dismissal which once again exposed his utter discomfort against rising deliveries.

Rohit, meanwhile, had other plans. He treated off-spinner Jason Krejza with utter disdain and chose Clarke for special treatment.

After negotiating Clarke’s first three balls of the 38th over with utmost caution, Rohit followed up back-to-back fours with a soaring six to fetch his fifty off just 68 balls.

Rohit’s ton also came in spectacular fashion. Back-to-back sixes took him to 98 and after a pause, a straight driven four off Michael Clark fetched his century off just 137 balls. A mistimed pull off Johnson eventually brought his peril but by then, Rohit had made a statement with the bat.

For Rohit, the century came probably a day late but he refuses to complain and instead hopes that the selectors have taken note of his performance.

“Obviously it felt bad but then selection is not in my hands,” said the Mumbai batsman.

(AGENCIES)

A Statistical look

The following are three figure scores of Indian batsmen against touring Australians, excluding Test matches:

204* — Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) in Mumbai, 1997-98

130* — Pankaj Dharmani (Board President’s XI) in Patiala 1996-97

117* — Amay Khurasiya (India A) in Jamshedpur, 1997-98

113* — Chandu Borde (West Zone) in Poona, 1969-70

105 — Rohit Sharma (Board President’s XI) in Hyderabad, 2008-09

105 — Virat Kohli (Board President’s XI) in Hyderabad, 2008-09

102* — Hrishikesh Kanitkar (Board President’s XI) in Vizag, 1997-98

101 — Chandrakant Pandit (Bombay) in Gwalior, 1986-87

101 — Sadagopan Ramesh (India A) in Nagpur, 2000-01

COMPILED BY MOHANDAS MENON