In their final match on Australian soil, veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli proved the difference with a memorable partnership guiding India to victory as they avoided a series whitewash in front of a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground.
Starring down the achievable target of 237 due to solid and economical bowling from Harshit Rana (4/39) and Axar Patel (0/18), India got off to a flying start, giving them the upper hand to start their batting innings.
Two days after top-scoring in Adelaide with 73 runs, Sharma was able to remind his critics once again about what he can produce with the bat in hand and that he doesn't look out of place at the bottom of the order.
Hitting a boundary with the third delivery of the innings, Sharma took apart the Australian bowling attack, adding another century to his name en route to 121 runs.
Already retired from Test cricket, there have been several questions over the past few months about whether India should go in another direction than Sharma.
However, he is bound to get some breathing room now, showing that his talent is still there with 11 fours and two sixes.
Joining Sharma at the crease in the 10th over after a short-lived hitting display from Shubman Gill (24), Virat Kohli continued to let the runs flow in his final appearance on Australian soil.
Entering the crease from back-to-back ducks, Kohli blew a sigh of relief after he got off the mark and his nerves soon went away after he produced two boundaries within five deliveries.
Staying in the field of play until the winning runs were hit, Kohli notched up an impressive 74 which included seven boundaries, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara as the second-highest run-scorer in the 50-over format.
While Australia will be kicking itself for not making a higher score despite six players making above 23 runs, they still walked away with some positives and the series trophy.
Matthew Renshaw (56) led the batters in runs but was unable to turn it into triple digits.
Meanwhile, middle-order batters Matt Short (30) and Cooper Connolly (23) both had their moments and will hope that their performances in the series are enough to land them a concrete place in the side.
Match Summary
India 1/237 (R Sharma 121, V Kohli 74; J Hazlewood 1/23) def Australia 236 (M Renshaw 56, M Short 30; H Rana 4/39) by nine wickets
