Australia sets 240 runs target for India

Sydney, Mar 2 : After winning the won and opting to bat first, the Australians set 240 runs target for the Team India in the first final match of the Commonwealth Bank series here at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

At one point, Australia were 24 at the loss of three wickets in Adam Gilchrist (7), skipper Ricky Ponting (1) and Michael Clarke (4), but a 100-run partnership between Matthew Hayden (82) and Andrew Symonds (31) helped the Kangaroos in crossing 238 runs mark.

Mike Hussey made 45 runs, James Hopes 15, Hogg remained not out at 23, Bret Lee made quick 17 runs and Mitchell Johnson was unbeaten at 6.

Indian pacer Praveen Kumar was impressive, picking up two wickets with the new ball. Harbhajan and Chawla kept things tight but Pathan was hammered all throughout

After winning the toss, Ponting felt that it was a good toss to win, but Dhoni has hoped that his bowlers would get early break-through.

Teams

India: SR Tendulkar, G Gambhir, RV Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, RG Sharma, P Kumar, IK Pathan, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, I Sharma, Piyush Chawla

Australia: AC Gilchrist, ML Hayden, JR Hopes, RT Ponting, MJ Clarke, A Symonds, MEK Hussey, B Lee, GB Hogg, MG Johnson, NW Bracken.

ANI