Guwahati: India paid dearly for choosing to bat first on a tricky wicket at the Nehru Stadium Sunday.

Australia stuck to their plot in the crunch game and, as it turned out, they did well to ensure a hard-fought series win with a depleted side and a game to go.

The match was as good as over in the first half-hour, with the pace duo of Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger joining forces to render it into a no-contest by reducing the hosts to 27 for five in 5.1 overs.

The hosts struggled to 170 in 48 overs with fighting knocks from Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar. But it was not enough for the motivated and clinical Aussies, who knocked off the target in 41.5 overs for a six-wicket win. Ricky Ponting later described the victory as one of his most satisfying given the circumstances under which it was achieved.

Vice-captain Michael Hussey, who had Saturday said their plan was to try and seal the series in the sixth match itself, and all-rounder Adam Voges remained unbeaten on 35 (62 balls, 2x4) and 23 (21 balls, 4x4), respectively, after losing Ponting and Shane Watson in quick succession to offie Harbhajan Singh.

Watson struck 49 for a sound start to the Aussie innings and shared a 61-run second wicket partnership with Ponting who scored 25.

But for all practical purposes, the match came apart for the hosts with Johnson’s double strike (Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir) in the very first over of the match.

With Bollinger getting into the act, the visitors made good use of the movement off the pitch and in the air. Bollinger removed Sachin Tendulkar (10) and Yuvraj Singh’s freak dismissal, while trying, with the bat, to stop the ball from hitting the wicket, left the hosts in tatters. Suresh Raina’s soft dismissal further compounded the hosts’ woes.

Dhoni and Jadeja tried to repair the innings but the resistance was broken by a doubtful leg before decision that saw the captain depart with the score 75 for six in 30.1 overs. Dhoni and Harbhajan fell in the 31st over to Bollinger who finished with a five-wicket haul (10-4-35-5) and the Man of the Match award.

“I am really happy today. Sachin’s is a huge wicket. I didn’t do anything special but just kept things simple. We were motivated to do well. Made the most of the conditions here,” Bollinger said.

This was the 28-year-old New South Wales fast bowler’s second five-wicket haul in only the seventh ODI of his career. The pacer had bowled well in Mohali as well, taking three for 38 and attributed the impressive performance to playing on different wickets and different conditions in India.

“It has been a long tour… Playing here since the Champions League T20. That has helped. It has been a good learning experience,” he added.

Bollinger removed Sachin in his third over. It was a relatively soft caught and bowled dismissal, but a huge wicket in the context of the game. It further dented the hosts’ chance after Johnson’s double strike in the first over.

The only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable outing for the Indian was the 74-run eighth wicket stand between Praveen Kumar (52 not out) and Jadeja (57 off 103 balls).

But the dismissal of Jadeja in the 44th over literally put a full stop on the Indian innings. Ashis Nehra and Munaf Patel departed with the score at 170, both falling to wild heaves off Watson, who like Johnson and Bollinger took two wickets in a single over.

It was evident just how pleased Bollinger was when he described the ongoing series as one of the best the team has been involved in.

What Bollinger didn’t mention when he said “we were motivated to do well”, was that he stood up to be counted in one of the most demanding tours for a team which missed four of its regular players due to injuries. Five more picked up injuries during the series.

The victory was special for Australia because this is the third one-day success on tour since their 6-1 defeat of England in their own den, the successful defence of the Champions Trophy in South Africa and now the series victory in India.