At Vishakhapatnam, April 3. Australia won by 93 runs. Toss: Australia.
Apart from another routine mauling by Hayden, who struck a maiden one-day international hundred, India had to contend with Ponting belatedly running into his best form. Both scored at high speed – Hayden hit 111 in 112 balls, Ponting 101 in 110 – while adding 219 in 35 overs. When that stand was breached, Bevan, Steve Waugh and Lee smashed 92 off the last ten overs, taking Australia to 338, the largest total of the series. If India had any remaining hopes of securing the series here, they were removed by the dismissal of Tendulkar in the 16th over. His 62 runs out of 85 came from only 38 balls and included 11 fours, three off consecutive balls from McGrath. Warne then had Laxman stumped to reach 250 wickets in limited-overs internationals, and it needed a late flurry from Harbhajan Singh to keep the margin down to double figures. Man of the Match: M. L. Hayden.

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