India captain Rohit Sharma faced brutal trolling following the Men in Blue's defeat in the ODI series decider to Australia in Chennai on Wednesday.

Rohit Sharma not only faced flak for throwing his wicket in the game but was ridiculed for losing the three-match ODI series to Australia at home.

A few even put out stats, comparing his captaincy tenure with Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni's stints as skippers, before criticizing him for his poor numbers as India's captain.

 

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma became the eighth Indian batter to complete 10,000 runs in international cricket in Asia.

After winning the toss, the visitors opted to bat and posted 269 on the board in their allocated 50 overs. Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav were the picks of the bowlers for India, grabbing three Australian wickets each at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

In reply, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill opened the batting for India. The Nagpur-born cricketer looked in great touch, firing on all cylinders during the early part of India's run chase.

Rohit Sharma smashed two sixes and an equal number of boundaries in his 17-ball 30-run cameo before getting out to Sean Abbott. However, before being dismissed, the 35-year-old scripted history as he joined an elite list comprising the likes of Virat Kohli and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

Also part of the exclusive club is current India head coach Rahul Dravid, former explosive opener Virender Sehwag, 2011 World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni, and former skippers Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly.

Rohit Sharma has scored 10,026 runs in 247 international games in Asia. The senior India batter averages 44.16 in Asia.

Speaking about Rohit Sharma's stats in ODIs, he has amassed 9,824 runs in 243 50-over matches for India. Called the Hitman by Indian fans, Rohit Sharma has hit 30 tons and 48 fifties for the national team in ODIs.

Rohit Sharma remains the only player to notch up three ODI double-centuries and score over 250 (264) runs in a 50-over contest.

However, Rohit Sharma's landmark didn't inspire other Team India batters to their team across the finishing line as the home side lost the match by 21 runs and the series 2-1.

Virat Kohli was the lone batter from the two teams to score a half-century in the game. But once he got out, the Australians found a foot in the door and quickly capitalized on the opportunity. Immediately after Virat Kohli's wicket, Suryakumar Yadav got out, dismissed for a third consecutive golden duck.

Though Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja combined for a 33-run partnership, bringing the target down to 52, they fell quickly, attempting big shots as the asking rate rose considerably.

Moments later, the Rohit Sharma-led side got bowled out for 248, and with that, India suffered a rare ODI series defeat at home.

After India's series loss, Rohit Sharma slammed his batters for not applying themselves on the pitch before calling it a “collective failure”.

“I don't think it was too many runs. The wicket was a little challenging towards the second half. I don't think we batted well. Partnerships are crucial, and we failed to do that today. The mode of dismissals… you are born and brought up on these wickets. Sometimes you need to apply yourself, and give yourself a chance. It was important for one batter to carry on and take the game deep. But all of us were trying our best; it just didn't happen. The nine ODIs we have played since January, we can take a lot of positives from that. It is a collective failure. In five months' time, we'll be playing in these conditions. You've got to give credit to the Australians as well,” Rohit Sharma said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

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The legendary Sunil Gavaskar was critical of Rohit Sharma's absence in the first ODI, which he missed due to a family commitment. The Indian skipper couldn't participate in his home ODI in Mumbai as he had to attend his brother-in-law's wedding, which took place the same week.

“I think he needs to play every game. You can’t have a captain who is there for one match and not there for the rest. It is so important. It can happen to any other player but I think it was a family commitment, so he had to be there. That’s understandable,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.

“When it comes to the World Cup, you can’t have a family commitment; it’s as simple as that. Maybe before that, finish everything that you have unless it’s an emergency. Emergency is something completely different,” he added.

“You need continuity in leadership. There’s a feeling that you have got everybody with you, otherwise there are two leaders. Then there are two leaders that the team is looking at,” Sunil Gavaskar stated.

The 1983 World Cup winner blamed the lack of partnerships in India's run chase for their loss in Chennai before warning the Rohit Sharma-led side not to forget that they could face Australia in the World Cup. The 50-over World Cup would be held in India in October and November.

“It was the pressure created. They were not getting singles. The boundaries had dried up and they weren't even getting singles. When that happens then you try and play something that you are not used to. That is something they will have to look at. But of course, now the IPL starts. This shouldn't be forgotten. India sometimes makes the mistake of forgetting this, but this one shouldn't be because in the World Cup, we may face Australia again,” Sunil Gavaskar opined.

“When you are chasing a score of 270 or nearly 300, you need a partnership of about 90 or 100 and that will take you close. But that didn't happen. Yes, there were a couple of partnerships, one between Rahul and Kohli, but then you wanted another similar or bigger stand. Fielding from Australia was outstanding. Their bowling was very good. It was tight, stump to stump, but their fielding was very good. That was the difference,” he concluded.

The action will now shift to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rohit Sharma will lead five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament, which begins on March 31.