Gambhir's Century in vain, India loses by 18 runs

A valiant century by Gautam Gambhir and timely half century by Robin Uthappa went in vain, as India lost to Australia by 18 runs in Sydney ODI. Chasing a victory target of 318 to win, India lost its top order batsmen Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma cheaply. India were 51/4 at one stage. However, India fought back, thanks to great efforts from Gambhir, Dhoni and Uthappa. Even the lower order batsmen Pathan and Harbhajan contributed well, but finally India fell short of 18 runs.

The team bowled out for 299 in 49.1 overs. Gambhir scored 113, while Uthappa made 51. Dhoni contributed 36. For Australia, Brett Lee took 5 wickets. Ricky Ponting was declared "Man of the Match".