Cricket: Australia defeats India by nine wickets

An unbeaten 79 by Adam Gilchrist helped Australia trounce India by nine wickets Thursday in the fifth one-day international in the western city of Vadodra.Australia took a 3-1 series lead and needs to win one of the two remaining matches to clinch the seven-match series. The first match was abandoned due to rain.

Gilchrist and captain Ricky Ponting (39 not out) overhauled the India total of 148 in just 25.5 overs with nine wickets in hand.

Gilchrist’s aggressive knock, including seven fours and four sixes, came after he took six catches in India’s innings.

Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson (five for 26) and Brett Lee (two for 42) wrecked India’s top order after skipper Mahendra Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first.

The Indian batsmen failed to judge the pace of the wicket and were undone by some swing bowling and angled deliveries by Johnson and Lee.

“We swung the new ball a lot which brought about the downfall of Indian batsmen,” Ponting said after the game.

“Johnson was outstanding in his bowling performance.”

Indian skipper Dhoni said the team would now concentrate on the remaining matches.

“They bowled superbly. We were short of runs,” he said.

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar hit 47 in his landmark 400th one-dayer, and helped India recover somewhat after it had lost top five batsmen for 43 runs off 9.2 overs.

Tendulkar’s 400th one-day game was the second most in history after Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya’s 402. He holds the one-day record for most runs (15,610), centuries (41) and fifties (84).

India started poorly, losing Sourav Ganguly (0) and Rahul Dravid (0) in the opening over bowled by Lee.

Johnson struck from the other end, quickly removing Yuvraj Singh (1), Robin Uthappa (4) and skipper Mahinder Dhoni (5).

Tendulkar and Irfan Pathan (26) then put on 49 for the sixth wicket.

Tendulkar raised hopes of an Indian recovery before Lee claimed his wicket on the third delivery of his second spell, inducing an edge through to the wicket-keeper.

His 47, inclusive of nine boundaries, were scored off 73 deliveries.

A quick-fire 41-run last-wicket stand between local Zaheer Khan (28) and Rudra Pratap Singh (12 not out) helped India reach 148 in the 40th over.