Aussies book their place in the finals …

Australia has restricted India to 299 to secure an 18-run victory in a high-scoring affair at the SCG on Sunday.

Gautam Gambhir (113 from 119 balls) led the way with his second century of the Commonwealth Bank Series - his first against Australia - to give his side a sniff of an unlikely victory.

An entertaining half-century from Robin Uthappa (51 off 46) ensured Ricky Ponting's men were pushed all the way but the loss of four wickets in the first 10 overs proved too great a setback to overcome.

Gambhir, who pummelled nine boundaries and a six, was forced to watch Virender Sehwag (18), Rohit Sharma (1) and Yuvraj Singh (5) all fall in the space of 10 deliveries, as the tourists' top order crumbled to 4-51.

In-form skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (36 from 66) then combined with the centurion in a 98-run stand to offer his side a glimmer of hope.

When Brett Lee (5-58) had Dhoni caught behind in the first over of his second spell, all hope appeared lost but Uthappa and Gambhir continued the assault.

Adam Gilchrist eventually removed Gambhir with some razor-sharp work behind the stumps to give Hogg (1-62) his only wicket.

A hard-hitting cameo from Irfan Pathan (22 from 21) kept the scoreboard ticking over and his wicket brought Harbhajan Singh (20 from 11) to the crease, who signalled his intentions almost immediately with a boundary.

But when Harbhajan and Uthappa fell from consecutive Lee deliveries, an Australian win was a mere formality.

Earlier, a classy 124 from captain Ricky Ponting saw Australia reach a mammoth 7-317 after winning the toss in perfect conditions.

Ponting was the backbone of the innings featuring in 100-plus-run partnerships with both Matthew Hayden (54 from 62) and Andrew Symonds (59 off 49) as the Australian top order found its stride.

The captain's knock, which included seven boundaries and a six, came to an end in the 49th over when he holed out at long-off to give Shanth Sreesanth (2-58) his second scalp - but the damage was done.

Adam Gilchrist set the tone early striking three boundaries from his first seven deliveries before Sreesanth and MS Dhoni combined to remove the lethal left-hander for 16.

Hayden was the second man to fall when a mix-up between the wickets brought about his demise - the opener caught well short of his ground after attempting to steal an ambitious single.

After a circumspect start to his innings, Andrew Symonds switched gears plundering six boundaries and two sixes in a breathtaking exhibition of heavy hitting.