The stroke was high on power and intensity. It was also low on sympathy. This was compelling action at the Adelaide Oval. Mahendra Singh Dhoni whipped a delivery from the off-stump over the long-on fence. Bowler Clint McKay appeared exasperated while the Indian captain's visage revealed little. Gripping climax The match had hurtled towards a gripping climax. India, pursuing 270, required 13 runs off the final over. R. Ashwin took a single off the second delivery after missing the first. Then came Dhoni's big blow off the third.

There was more drama. Dhoni was caught at the square-leg fence but the high full toss was rightly called a no ball. India picked up three runs, including a brace for the stroke. Dhoni, cool and focussed amid all the pressure, pulled the next delivery and ran three as India clinched a humdinger with two deliveries remaining. Dhoni, the Finisher, found the right answers at the end with an unbeaten 58-ball 44. The four-wicket win over Australia — a huge victory from a psychological perspective — here on Sunday took India to eight points from three games in the Commonwealth Bank ODI triangular series. The host has nine from the same number of matches.

Earlier, Man-of-the-Match Gautam Gambhir's 111-ball 92 (7x4) set up the pursuit for India. The left-hander innovated and created with his footwork on a surface favouring the batsmen. Tendulkar rested Gambhir made his way back to the eleven as India, following its rotation policy vis-a-vis the top three senior batsmen for each game, rested Sachin Tendulkar.

It was a match that swung from one end to the other. Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, bowling with amazing accuracy, sent down a terrific 49th over. He conceded just four runs and had Ravindra Jadeja picked up at deep mid-wicket. The left-handed Suresh Raina (38) produced a delightful cameo towards the finish. He struck Doherty over mid-wicket for six and crashed McKay through the covers before stepping out to a quicker, fuller delivery from Doherty and was castled.

The Indians needed a start and Virender Sehwag and Gambhir provided the side one. The left-right combination took the total to 52 in nine overs when Sehwag, attempting to flick a back-of-a-length delivery from Mckay, was held at point. Virat Kohli struggled for rhythm before getting caught at sweeper cover off McKay. Rohit Sharma sizzled briefly, pulling Starc for the maximum and cutting with panache, before recklessly attempting to clout Ryan Harris. These two wickets were thrown away.

Simple and effective It was a good knock from Gambhir. Picking the length quickly, he was ready with his response. The left-hander's methods were simple — when the delivery was pitched up, he drove. And when the ball was dropped short, he cut and pulled. The manner in which Gambhir used the depth of the crease to shorten the length was admirable. He brought his dexterous wrists into play to work the ball fine. His belief back, he also sashayed down the track to crash Starc through the covers.

Gambhir, against the run of play, played across to McKay to be adjudged leg-before — it was a marginal decision as the ball seemed to have pitched outside the leg-stump. What made the Indians' chase more memorable was the running between the wickets. They hustled the home side into making errors on the field, and the Aussies did feel the heat. Earlier, the Indians did well to restrict the host to 269 for eight after it elected to bat. Debutant Peter Forrest was light on his feet and found the gaps with precision.

Forrest on fire Forrest's 83-ball 66 was a quality effort from the 26-year-old right-hander. His bat is raised at the point of release — Forrest has a sizable back-lift — and the Aussie essayed some pleasing shots in front of the wicket. Forrest appeared set for a bigger score when he mistimed a pull off paceman Umesh Yadav.

The 98-run fourth-wicket partnership between Forrest and the smooth-stroking David Hussey (72 off 76 balls) formed the backbone of the Australian innings. There is an unmistakable ease about Hussey's ways at the crease. He cover-drove beautifully, often getting to the pitch of the ball. The right-hander pulled and flicked off-spinner R. Ashwin for fine boundaries. Hussey fell to a smart catch by Sehwag at square-leg while flicking Zaheer Khan.

Vital strikes To their credit, the Indians struck at vital stages of the innings. Ricky Ponting, opening the innings, was consumed on the drive by a Vinay Kumar delivery that moved a tad away from the off-stump. David Warner's early promise ended in a run-out when Rohit recovered quickly from a diving stop to release the ball to bowler Jadeja. Clarke flicked and drove fluently before being done in by a clever change of pace from Yadav. Daniel Christian unleashed a few rousing blows but the Indians bounced back admirably in the last 10 overs, conceding just 57 runs.

The steady Indian bowling was backed by sharp fielding. Yadav impressed the most, putting in plenty of effort on a flat track. Australia: D. Warner (run out) 18 (24b, 2x4), R. Ponting c Kohli b Vinay 6 (14b, 1x4), M. Clarke b Yadav 38 (43b, 5x4), P. Forrest c Vinay b Yadav 66 (83b, 5x4, 2x6), D. Hussey c Sehwag b Zaheer 72 (76b, 5x4), D. Christian (run out) 39 (36b, 2x4), M. Wade b Vinay 16 (18b, 1x4), R. Harris (not out) 2 (4b), C. McKay (run out) 3 (3b); Extras (lb-4, w-4, nb-1): 9; Total (for eight wkts. in 50 overs): 269.

Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Ponting), 2-53 (Warner), 3-81 (Clarke), 4-179 (Forrest), 5-235 (D. Hussey), 6-254 (Christian), 7-265 (Wade), 8-269 (McKay). India bowling: Zaheer 10-0-46-1, Vinay 10-1-58-2, Jadeja 10-0-50-0, Yadav 10-1-49-2, Ashwin 8-0-47-0, Rohit 2-0-15-0.

India: G. Gambhir lbw b McKay 92 (111b, 7x4), V. Sehwag c D. Hussey b McKay 20 (21b, 3x4), V. Kohli c Forrest b McKay 18 (28b, 1x4), Rohit c Starc b Harris 33 (41b, 1x4, 1x6), S. Raina b Doherty 38 (30b, 3x4, 1x6), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 44 (58b, 1x6), R. Jadeja c Ponting b Doherty 12 (8b), R. Ashwin (not out) 1 (2b); Extras (lb-2, w-9, nb-1): 12; Total (for six wkts. in 49.4 overs): 270. Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Sehwag), 2-90 (Kohli), 3-166 (Rohit), 4-178 (Gambhir), 5-239 (Raina), 6-257 (Jadeja). Australia bowling: Harris 10-0-57-1, Starc 8-0-49-0, McKay 9.4-1-53-3, Christian 10-0-45-0, D. Hussey 3-0-13-0, Doherty 9-0-51-2.