4 Times Rohit Sharma threw away the opportunity in Tests

In the First test of the ongoing Domain Test series against Australia, team India started in poor fashion, tumbling down to 127/6 in their first innings before Pujara began the reformation with the tail-enders.

The side did better while batting in the second innings, with the main batsmen all chipping in with valuable contributions - all but one man, Rohit Sharma.

Rohit Sharma is arguably one of the best batsmen in the limited overs' formats, but for some unfortunate reason, he has never really been able to replicate his success in the longer format of the game.

Rohit has so far made just 1517 runs in 45 innings, at an average of 38.9. It doesn't seem really bad, but the real shocker comes when we get to know that he averages close to 60 at home conditions, while possessing a very very measly and unpardonable eight-point-something average in away venues.

Rohit had a fantastic start in the first innings this time, gathering 31 runs from 59 balls. But then he decided to lost Nathan Lyon over deep square leg which luckily went for six runs as the fielder and debutant Marcus Harris stepped on the ropes while picking up the catch on offer.

That should have been a warning sign for the Mumbai batsman, but while on the sole aim of unsettling the bowler, he repeated the shot again, and this time, the fielder made no mistake as the ball fell several yards short of the boundary ropes.

Thus, Rohit cost India's chances a great deal by throwing away his wicket. Himself and Pujara were forging a vital partnership, which if extended, could have furthered India's causes for the win at Adelaide.

But that was not to happen, as he became the fifth batsman to return back due to a reckless shot, while the score read just 86.

Here are four of such similar situations, where he has done it previously. It should be made sure that Rohit doesn't do this any more often, because it may prove costly for himself and his Test career.

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#1 vs Australia, Fourth Test, Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sydney, January 6-10, 2015

It was a poor shot selection that caused Rohit's demise in this game

Batting first again, Australia again made a huge score, 572/7 decl., to which India replied with 475 runs.

Australia declared at 251/6 in their second try, and India were put in to bat again, needing 349 runs to win.

India were at 178/2 when Rohit Sharma, who was at 39 after batting well so far, tried to push a short-of-length delivery by Shane Watson towards offside but instead edged straight to Steven Smith slips.

It was a poor shot selection for the kind of delivery, and with a set batsman departing, India were put into a defensive mode all of a sudden.

Eventually, the side escaped with a draw, managing just 252/7 before play concluded.

#2 vs Australia First Test, Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Adelaide, Dec 9-13, 2014

The Mumbai batsman was generally successful in finding shots until then and was looking in great nick

Batting first, Australia had scored 517/7decl., and India were fighting hard to match the score. For a while, things were going good, and at one stage, India were 399/5.

Wridhimann Saha was betting on 25 runs along with Rohit who on 43 runs himself. The Mumbai batsman was generally successful in finding shots until then and was looking in great nick.

He suddenly tried to nudge a ball for a single by coming down the track and instead offered very little force at it and played it with an upward bat, thus softly patting it and sending it straight to the bowler Nathan Lyon's hand.

The entire innings crumbled at 444 runs, and later India lost the match by 48 runs.

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#3 vs Srilanka Third Test, India's tour of Sri Lanka, Colombo, August 28-September 1, 2015

Rohit was going strong before throwing away his wicket

India made 312 in their first innings and restricted the hosts to 201 in their first chance. Afterwards, India came in to bat again and made another 274 runs.

At some stage, Rohit Sharma was at 50 runs, after having completed a rare overseas fifty, and showing signs of going strong, when the inevitable happened again.

Just a ball before the lunch break, he tried to pull a short ball from Dhammika Prasad but timed the shot spectacularly late.

The ball got his bat's edge, took some airtime and eventually settled in Nuwan Pradeep's hands at long-leg, to end mark yet another innings who end was mainly caused by neither a bowler nor a fielder, but by Rohit Sharma himself.

India did go on to win the Test by 117 runs, after dismissing Sri Lanka for 268 in their final chance.

#4 vs South Africa, Second Test, Momentum Test Series, Centurion, Jan 13-17, 2018

Rohit Sharma played a needless shot

Hosts South Africa batted first and made 335 runs, afterwards winning a 28-run lead by cleaning India up for 307. In reply, the hosts made just 258 runs and gave India a possible target of 287 to chase.

But India fell apart very quickly, losing their top six wickets for just 83 runs. Rohit Sharma was the lone batsman who crossed 30 runs and slowly took his side to 141/7, though the winning chances were still very bleak.

Then, at 47 runs he tried to hook a Kagiso Rabada back-of-the-length delivery but mistimed the shot as the ball got his top edge instead and flew towards fine leg, where AB de Villiers made no mistake in the catch despite having to dive.

It was a needless shot to attempt at such a dangerous situation, and also cost the player's chances to play in the remaining Tests in the series and the forthcoming England series.

India eventually lost the remaining wickets and surrendered the game and the series to South Africa.