Sharma makes 171, India posts 309-3 in 1st ODI vs. Australia

PERTH, Australia (AP) Rohit Sharma continued to thrive against Australia's bowlers with an unbeaten 171 and Virat Kohli scored a ground-breaking 91 as the two combined for a 207-run partnership that lifted India to 309-3 in the first one-day international against the hosts on Tuesday.

Sharma has now had scores of 209, 138, 34 and 171, totaling more than 550 runs, in his last four one-day innings against Australia, with an average of 64 runs per innings.

His century at the WACA Ground on Tuesday was his ninth in one-day internationals and his third in Australia, a record matched among Indian batsmen only by V.V.S. Laxman.

He had 13 fours and seven sixes on the day.