Chasing 310 for victory, Australia reached the winning total by losing five wickets with four balls to spare.
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For the visitors, left-arm quick Birender Sran impressed in his debut match taking three wickets while star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped two wickets.
He was also part of the most debatable play of the day when Bailey seemed to have gloved the first ball he faced from Sran, which went straight to Dhoni.
Australia’s upcoming one-day campaign against India should be as feisty as ever, said coach Darren Lehmann on Saturday, adding that the aggression factor would be a good challenge for his young squad. Australia were reduced to 21 for 2 after 4.4 overs, and India’s hopes of a win started to appear in the horizon. On an absolutely flat pitch, the Indian bowlers struggled for consistency and the Australian reaped dividends with their risk-free approach. “I am quite sure they will be disappointed that they could not defend such a huge total, 309 in any condition is a big score”, he said. He, along with Smith, went on to rebuild the Aussie innings cautiously but keep the scorecard ticking.
Skipper Dhoni will want to turn the tables in the New Year but will rue the fact that one of his best pace weapons, Mohammed Shami, has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury even before the first ball has been bowled.
Bailey and enigmatic captain Steve Smith made the Indians pay as they put together a wonderful 272-run partnership that spanned the next 37 overs as they cruised to victory.
As Virat posted his half-century, Rohit eased past his hundred to pile in the woes for the hosts.
India had batted impressively in the first innings with Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 171 being the highlight.
India lost their opener Shikhar Dhawan (9) for 36 runs. The Mumbaikar was then joined by Kohli in the middle.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris, Scott Boland.
En route his ninth ODI hundred, the stylish right-hander from Mumbai broke a plethora of records, including the one where he surpassed Sir Vivian Richards’ 153 which has been the highest individual score against Australia in an ODI Down Under for the last 37 years.
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Rohit smashed 13 fours and cleared the boundary seven times to the delight of the large contingent of Indian fans at the ground.
