Scorecard

Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid scored half-centuries as India posted a competitive 249 for 8 against Australia in the concluding Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy, at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, in Mohali, on Sunday.

Electing to bat first, India lost Sachin Tendulkar early for 10, but Sehwag, after a shaky start, played a solid innings of 65 to launch the team.

Captain Dravid scored a brisk 52 from 63 balls, adding 60 runs for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Kaif (30), while Mahendra Singh hit up a quickfire 28 from 23 balls as India struggled to get going in the final few overs.

Brett Lee checked India's progress with a fine second spell to finish with 2 for 54 in his 10 overs. Veteran pacer Glenn McGrath once again stood out, finishing with figures 2 for 34 in 10 overs.

The winner of this match will secure a place in the semi-finals.

India innings:

As expected, Glenn McGrath took the new ball with Brett Lee as Australia aimed for an early breakthrough on a pitch that looked much better for batting than any of the earlier pitches here.

Sehwag tried to play positively, hitting anything wide, without bothering too much about his footwork, which is the case with him always.

He was lucky to be dropped on 10, as his full-blooded cut shot off Lee just flew over Michael Clarke's fingertips at backward point in the third over.

Then an inside edge in Lee's next over just missed the stumps by a whisker before racing to the boundary.

Sachin Tendulkar got off to a nervy start. After a few play and miss shots against Lee in the fifth over, he opened his account in style off the 13^th ball he faced. It was a sweetly-timed boundary through the off-side.

Ricky Ponting had said on Saturday that McGrath has a bit of an edge of late when it comes to contests between the two players. The veteran bowler showed it yet again when he frustrated the master batsman for quite a while before his outswinger took the edge and dismissed Tendulkar for the seventh time in ODIs.

Tendulkar looked a pale shadow of himself as he fell after a subdued innings of 10 from 26 in the 10th over. His wicket saw India trying another batsman at No 3 -- local lad, Dinesh Mongia.

Tendulkar's catch was Adam Gilchrist's 400th dismissal in one-day internationals. He became the first player in international cricket to reach the milestone.

Sehwag completed his fifty with a neat glide to the third man region in the 19th over off Nathan Bracken. It was his 24th half-century in one-dayers and third against Australia; it seemed he was eyeing a big knock.

All-rounder Shane Watson struck at the right time to claim India's second wicket. Just when it looked like Mongia would forge a big partnership with Sehwag, he was caught in the slips for 18.

The setback did not hamper India too much, as Dravid and Sehwag continued to score at a good rate. But once again they lost another wicket against the run of play in the 29th over. Sehwag was dismissed leg before wicket to Mitchell Johnson after a superb knock of 65 from 90 balls, including nine boundaries.

Every time the Indian batsmen threatened to run away with a big score, Australia would reply with a wicket.

Captain Dravid, in his 300th one-dayer, started positively and continued milking the runs in the middle overs. He raced to his half-century in 62 balls with a smashing boundary in the 41st over, but was dismissed the very next ball by Lee.

He was caught by Michael Clarke at short midwicket as he tried to drive through the leg-side after a good innings of 52. Dravid added 60 runs for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Kaif.

Kaif (30) followed soon, inside-edging Lee on to his stumps as India slipped to 197 for 5 in the 43rd over.

Thereafter, India lost a few quick wickets. Young left-hander Suresh Raina (13 from 19 balls) and Irfan Pathan (10 from 7 balls) failed to get going in the final overs.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni again proved his utility with some vital quick runs at the end. He scored 28 from 23 balls before he was dismissed leg before wicket off the final ball, as India finished on 249 for 8 in their 50 overs.

The highlight of Dhoni's innings was the reverse sweep boundary he hit off Aussie left-arm pacer Bracken.

Lee bowled a superb second spell, claiming 2 for 11 in four overs to check India's progress after the Dravid-Kaif partnership. He was Australia's most successful bowler, finishing with 54 for 2 in his 10 overs.

However, veteran pacer McGrath was the best bowler for Australia, taking 2 for 34 in his 10 overs.

Though the total is a competitive one, the Indians would have been hoping to reach somewhere around the 270-run mark. The key now lies in getting Gilchrist early, else he could just make the difference on this good batting pitch.