Australia v India: Rohit Sharma century fails to stop hosts

Aaron Finch batting against India at the MCG

Rohit Sharma's 138 could not prevent Australia beating India by four wickets, to make it two wins out of two for the hosts in the triangular series, which also features England.

Sharma fired nine fours and four sixes, sharing 126 with Suresh Raina (51) as India made 267-8 having opted to bat.

But Aaron Finch hit 96 and despite late wickets Australia, who beat England on Friday, won with six balls to spare.

The next game in the series sees England play India on Tuesday.

The three teams meet each other twice before the top two play a final.

Australia, who included the first player of Indian origin to represent them in a one-day international, 21-year-old seamer Gurinder Sandhu, can secure their place in the final in Perth on 1 February if they beat England in Hobart on Friday.

Their left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, who took two wickets in his first over against England in Sydney, struck with his fifth ball as Shikhar Dhawan was caught at slip.

Starc finished with 6-43, the second best one-day international figures at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and claimed his second successive man-of-the-match award.

Sharma revived India with a 139-ball innings, his sixth one-day century, departing in the penultimate over.

After a spell of containment by the India spinners, Finch shared 101 in 17 overs with Steve Smith, who passed 1,000 ODI runs in his 47th match.

Smith, who made four centuries in the recent Test series with India, had helped his team to within 52 of victory when he chipped an ungainly tennis style smash to mid-wicket and departed for 47 in the 40th over.

Finch edged a wide one to India wicketkeeper MS Dhoni in the next over and wickets continued to fall, with 15 needed from the final two overs.

However, James Faulkner, who played out his opening six deliveries without scoring, hit two fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Brad Haddin added another as the Australians edged to victory.