The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Brisbane

Brett Lee took five wickets as Australia dismissed India for 194 on the final ball of its rain-reduced 45 overs in the opening match of the limited over tri-series at the Gabba on Sunday.

Australia's winning target was adjusted to 192 from 43 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method for rain-reduced matches, needing to score at 4.47 runs per over.

Lee (5-27) took his seventh one-day five-wicket haul to continue the home side's momentum after Friday night's nine-wicket Twenty20 win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India was reeling at 2-26 in the seventh over Sunday after Sachin Tendulkar (10) trod on his off-stump while playing back to a fast short ball, joining Virender Sehwag as early casualties.

Guatam Gambhir (39) and 20-year-old Rohit Sharma (29) put the visitors back in the game with a freewheeling 65-run stand for the third wicket.

The advantage didn't last long as Mitchell Johnson (1-33), who had Gambhir edge to slips twice in three balls only for Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting drop chances, got Gambhir leg before wicket.

Sharma and Manoj Tiwary went quickly before Ashley Noffke picked up his maiden one-day international wicket in his debut by dismissing Robin Uthappa for 5. At that point, India had lost 4-11 from seven overs in a middle-order collapse.

Rain halted play for almost 90 minutes, giving the visitors some respite at 128-6 from 36 overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who believed bowling on the "sticky wicket" would be more favorable later in the day-nighter, made 37 and gained good lower-order support after the break from Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh.

Harbhajan hit 27 off 19 balls, including 15 off the penultimate over by Nathan Bracken.

The three-nation series, which also includes Sri Lanka this year, will be replaced next year by a revised format of one-day matches involving Australia.