NAGPUR: Australia today relied on an all-round display to clinch the one-day series with a 18-run victory over India in the sixth cricket one-dayer which saw the hosts frittering away a solid start and running out of steam in the slog overs.
After scoring a mammoth 317 for eight built around Andrew Symonds rollicking unbeaten 107, the Australians held their nerve to restrict the home team to 299 for seven and take an invincible 4-1 lead in the seven-match series. The trusted opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar (72) and Sourav Ganguly (86) provided the foundation for the chase with a 140-run stand, but the Indians lost the plot in the middle overs to allow the asking rate to climb beyond manageable limits. Robin Uthappa (44 off 28 balls) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (26 off 29 balls) made a last ditch effort to overhaul the target with some lusty hitting but both perished in quick succession in the 49th over to leave India stranded.
Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg was the pick of the Australian bowlers with impressive figures of four for 49 on a good batting strip at the VCA Stadium. Mitchell Johnson, who bowled a maiden in the 49th over, chipped in with two for 39 while Man-of-the-Match Symonds followed up his batting exploits with an economic spell of 10-0-39-0.
The last day-night encounter in Mumbai October 17 has now been reduced to academic interest but the hosts will look for a consolation win to reduce the margin.
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