Hilfenhaus and Lee seal bonus-point win

Australia 5 for 288 (M Hussey 59, Forrest 52, Irfan 3-61) beat India 178 (Dhoni 56, Hilfenhaus 5-33, Lee 3-49) by 110 runs

Ben  Hilfenhaus and  Brett Lee splintered India to return Australia to the top of the table with a 110-run victory that reaped a bonus point at the Gabba. On a day when Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar both glimpsed their mortality in the limited-overs game, Australia's 5 for 288 proved far too tall a target for India's batsmen, who looked as uncomfortable as ever when faced by Brisbane's bounce and a home side recovering from two straight losses.

Making use of a hard, fast pitch and the early swing offered by the new ball, Lee and Hilfenhaus nipped out four wickets between them to slide India to 4 for 36, and had snared eight by the end of the night. Hilfenhaus was playing his first ODI since November 2009, in place of the ill Clint McKay, and made a strong case for his retention by moving the ball at good pace on a disciplined line to take five wickets for the first time. He had an ideal counterpoint in Lee, who offered slippery pace and plenty of aggression.

Tendulkar played a particularly fretful innings, struck on the helmet by Lee, caught at third man off Hilfenhaus. Soon after, Kohli lingered unhappily at the crease after video evidence was used to confirm he had been caught at slip by David Hussey. MS Dhoni's innings proved merely a parting shot as the match faded out.

Ponting won the toss in what is expected to be his last match in charge before Michael Clarke returns. David Warner made a wasteful exit for a swift 43, Ponting struggled badly for placement and occupied 26 balls for 7, and Matthew Wade fought his way to 45 only to give it up with a tame return catch.

Peter Forrest and Micheal Hussy righted the ship with a century partnership, but Christian and David Hussey made equally vital contributions with a stand of 65 in the final six overs. Michael Hussey's innings might have been over on 1, when MS Dhoni appealed for a stumping. Replays showed Hussey may have had some of his back foot safely behind the line, and there was some surprise when the red "out" signal flashed on the big screen. However Hussey's trudge off the field was swiftly aborted by the umpires, as it emerged that the wrong verdict from the third umpire Bruce Oxenford had somehow been relayed.

Needing close to six runs per over, India needed a strong start, but were unlikely to get one from the moment Lee found a way past Gautam Gambhir. In the Tests Gambhir had often been out fencing at deliveries going across him, but Lee's delivery gave him little choice, starting to bend in before seaming the other way off the track to clip the outside edge.