From the exhilarating high of Chandigarh to the depressing low of Vadodara, India saw it all in the space of four days. Ricky Ponting, on the eve of the match, had promised a champagne show from the Australians and true to his words the World Champions uncorked a performance that killed the fifth game of this seven-match series as a contest inside first 10 overs.

The visitors, displaying easily their best performance in the series, scored a comprehensive nine-wicket win here at the IPCL ground on Thursday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Having put up a meager 148, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a desperate attempt introduced off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the very first over and brought left-arm spinner Murali Kartik as early as in the eighth over, but the move had little bearing on the Australians as Adam Gilchrist (79, 77b, 7x4, 3x6) came to the party for the first time in the series.

If the ever optimistic Indian fan thought the Men in Blue would put up another spirited show like the one in the fourth game, he was in for a great disappointment. Dhoni hit it lucky with the coin for the second time in succession and he had no reason not to opt to bat first on a pitch that has witnessed some high-scoring matches in the past.

The last match played here yielded 341 runs when India batted first against the West Indies. An encore would have been most welcome, but India were dealt two big blows in the very first over of the match in the shape of dismissals of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. While Ganguly got run out after a yes-no situation with Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid was out for a first-ball duck, given leg-before by Pakistan's Aleem Dar.

Having lost two of the Big Three for almost nothing, it was tough for India to regroup and stage a comeback.
The only saving grace for the hosts was Tendulkar, who was playing his 400th one-day international. The maestro was at his vintage best and it was in total contrast to the innings he played at Chandigarh. There was no edginess and nor was there any indecisiveness in his stroke-making.

A cover drive and a flick off his pads off Mitchell Johnson indicated Tendulkar was in the zone. But his partners were deserting him faster than the ball travelled to the fence off his backfoot punches.

Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa and Dhoni – all falling to Johnson – were back in the hut with the score reading just 43 and the battle was over before it had begun.

Tendulkar, who played the only innings of some substance, fell after a delightful 47 (73b, 9x4), but given the circumstances the right-hander would have taken his scratchy knock at Chandigarh that proved crucial in India building a solid total. It was only through the industry of Irfan Pathan (26, 63b, 2x4, 1x6) and Zaheer Khan (28, 44b, 2x6) that India could come close to the 150-mark.

Johnson, who has relished bowling against India, produced his career best figures returning a five-wicket haul (5-28). The left-arm seamer, adjudged man of the match, induced four catches behind the wickets to Adam Gilchrist, who had a busy outing pouching six catches.  

Till Thursday India's task looked hard which has got tougher now.

Dhoni's men obviously can't win the series from here, but they still have a chance to not to lose it either. But if the events at Vadodara are anything to go by, India have a near impossible job on their hands.

SCORE BOARD
INDIA
Ganguly (run out) 0
(4b)
Tendulkar c Gilchrist b Lee 47
(73b, 9x4)
Dravid lbw Lee 0
(1b)
Yuvraj c Gilchrist b Johnson 1
(7b)
Uthappa lbw Johnson 5
(6b, 1x4)
Dhoni c Gilchrist b Johnson 4
(7b, 1x4)
Pathan c Gilchrist b Johnson 26
(63b, 2x4, 1x6)
Harbhajan c Bracken b Hogg 5
(3b, 1x4)
Kartik c Gilchrist b Johnson 0
(4b)
Zaheer c Gilchrist b Bracken 28
(44b, 2x6)
RP Singh (not out) 12
(27b, 1x4)

Extras (B-4, LB-6, N-1, W-9) 20

Total (all out, 39.4 overs) 148

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Ganguly), 2-5 (Dravid), 3-12 (Yuvraj), 4-33 (Uthappa), 5-43 (Dhoni),  6-92 (Tendulkar), 7-105 (Harbhajan), 8-106 (Pathan), 9-107 (Kartik).    
 
Bowling: Lee 9-0-42-2 (w-4, nb-1), Johnson 10-0-26-5 (w-3); Hogg 9-1-28-1; Hopes 3-0-13-0; Bracken 8.4-0-29-1 (w2).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 15/3; 10: 43/5; 15: 62/5; 20: 81/5; 25: 92/5; 30: 109/9; 35: 129/9; Close of innings: 148 all out in 39.4 overs.

Runs during Power Plays: Power Play 1: 1-10: 43/5; Power Play 2: 11-15: 19/0; Power Play 3: 16-20: 19/0 
      
AUSTRALIA
Gilchrist (not out) 79
(77b, 7x4, 4x6)
Hayden b RP Singh 29
(40b, 2x4)
Ponting (not out) 39
(39b, 5x4)

Extras (B-1, LB-1) 2

Total (one wkt, 25.5 overs) 149

Bowling: Harbhajan 9-0-36-0, Zaheer 3-0-23-0, Kartik 7.5-1-52-0, RP Singh 2-0-15-1, Pathan 2-0-11-0,  Tendulkar 2-0-11-0.

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 20/0; 10: 39/0; 15: 79/1; 20: 103/1; 25: 138/1. Runs during Power Plays: Power Play 1: 1-10: 39/0; Power Play 2: 11-15: 40/1.