Rohit a terrific ODI player: Ganguly

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly heaped praise on limited overs opening batsman Rohit Sharma who blasted 171 at Perth on Tuesday against Australia in the first outing of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series to help his side reach a strong total of 309/3.

"I watched the whole innings today. He was just brilliant. He is a terrific one-day player and I am surprised that he does not produce such innings in Tests," Ganguly said at a Masters Champions League (MCL) event here.

"In the shorter form, batting at the top of the order he is as good as anyone in the world. When he gets going he makes the game look so easy but when he gets out you think why did he play that shot? But he is an amazing player."

Though Rohit's knock helped India set the hosts a stiff target, centuries from Steve Smith (149) and George Bailey (112) helped Australia get over the line with five wickets and four deliveries to spare.

"Honestly, I thought India would win the game after getting to 309. I am quite sure they will be disappointed that they could not defend such a huge total, 309 in any condition is a big score," he said.

Indian left-arm pacer Barinder Sran impressed on his debut with the new ball, picking up two early wickets and finished with figures of 56/3 from 9.2 overs.

Speaking about the young quickie, Ganguly said: "Sran bowled really well. Perth is the place to make debut for any fast bowler."

"India needs such young fast bowlers. He is left arm, tall, bowls close to the stumps. I think he's got a lot of promise. I wish good luck to him," he said.