5 instances when India lost an ODI despite the opener scoring a century

Openers play a crucial role in the batting line-up irrespective of the format of cricket being played. Not that teams do not perform well when they get out cheaply, but their useful contributions generally lay the foundations for a big score.India have had many great ODI openers in the recent past with some of their best batsmen taking the responsibility to bat at the top of the order. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and of late, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have opened the innings for Team India in ODI cricket.There have been quite a few occurences when India have managed to end up on the losing side despite one of their openers getting a century. In the past week or so, we have already seen two of them as Rohit Sharma's back-to-back centuries against Australia went in vain.Here are 6 instances when this has happened in the past couple of decades:

#5 Virender Sehwag - 108 vs New Zealand at Napier, 2002

India’s 2002/03 tour to New Zealand was a really disastrous one and they drew a lot of criticism from all quarters for their shoddy performances. However, the lone bright spot for the Indians was Virender Sehwag, hwo seemed to be playing on a different level altogether.

Sehwag scored 2 centuries in the 7-match ODI series, one of which came in a losing cause. New Zealand were put in to bat by India and they put on 254 on the board in their alloted 50 overs thanks to a couple of 70s by Nathan Astle and Matthew Sinclair.

The Indian innings was in dire straits as they lost skipper Sourav Ganguly in the very first over. However, Sehwag batted resolutely at the other end even as he kept losing partners at the other end and brought up his century.

When Virender Sehwag was dismissed for 108, India’s had 204 on the board with 8 overs still left. But getting the remainder of the runs proved to be a tall order for the tail and India lost by 35 runs.

#4 Sourav Ganguly - 117 vs New Zealand at Nairobi, 2000

The 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy was a special tournament for Team India as it marked the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket. The man responsible for ushering in this change was none other than then skipper Sourav Ganguly.

India had reached the final of a major ICC tournament after a long time and needed a special effort to give them momentum. They got it in the form of a terrific century from the captain who eased away to 117 from 130 balls helping India put on a total of 264.

It was all set up perfectly for an Indian win with the Kiwis tottering at 5 for 132; however a ballistic ton by allrounder Chris Cairns took the match away from India as New Zealand won by 6 wickets with 2 balls to spare.

#3 Sachin Tendulkar - 137 vs Sri Lanka at Delhi, 1996

This innings is from a time when Team India heavily depended on Sachin Tendulkar to produce the goods with the bat. India performed quite decently in the 1996 World Cup; however, the one team which turned out to be their nemesis in the tournament were the eventual champions, Sri Lanka.

In a group match against the Sri Lankans at Delhi, India were put in to bat first and registered a formidable total of 271. It was completely a Sachin Tendulkar show as he blasted a run-a-ball 137, which became his then highest score.

Sri Lanka, however, did not have too much trouble chasing down the total riding on a blistering 79 from Sanath Jayasuriya and an unbeaten 131-run stand between skipper Arjuna Ranatunga and Hashan Tilakaratne. This was one of quite a few instances when the Indians lost despite a Sachin ton.

#2 Rohit Sharma - 150 vs South Africa at Kanpur, 2015

The ODI series between India and South Africa last year was a closely fought one and the tone for it was set in the very first match. A 73-ball 104 by AB de Villiers ensured that South Africa set Team India a target of 304 to win.

Opener Rohit Sharma led the way for India even as he and Rahane put on 149 runs for the 2nd wicket. Once the latter was dismissed for 60, Rohit took up the mantle of leading the Indians to a victory.

The stylish batsman eventually fell for an individual score of 150 with India requiring 35 to win from 23 deliveries. Unfortunately, though, the batsmen that followed including skipper MS Dhoni could not take India home as they ended up losing by 5 runs.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 175 vs Australia at Hyderabad, 2009

Perhaps the greatest example of India losing a match despite an opener scoring a hundred was Sachin Tendulkar's 175 against Australia at Hyderabad in 2009. It was the 5th ODI of a 7-match series and both teams were level at 2-2.

The Australians had put up a mammoth 350 on the board thanks to a century by Shaun Marsh and some late hitting by Cameron White and Mike Hussey. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag gave India a blistering start as they raced to 66 off just 8.5 overs.

The partnership was broken with Sehwag's dismissal and Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni were dismissed for 8, 9 and 6 respecitvely. Tendulkar, on the other hand, kept fighting a lone battle at his end. He got some support from Suresh Raina who scored a half-century and together they stitched a 137-run partnership.

Sachin reached another terrific hundred and kept on eating away at the Aussie total. By the time he was dismissed for 175, the Indians were just 19 short of the target; however, they ended up losing by a mere 3 runs.