By Shrivathsa Sridhar
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Australia's David Warner hit a fiery 124 in his 100th one-day international and combined with Aaron Finch (94) in an opening stand of 231 as the visitors set India a victory target of 335 on Thursday.
Down 3-0 in the five-match series, Warner and Finch took the attack to the Indian bowlers in the fourth ODI to set an Australian record first-wicket partnership against India, eclipsing the previous best of 212 set by Geoff Marsh and David Boon in Jaipur in 1986.
Warner, who smashed 12 boundaries and four sixes, became the eighth batsman to score a century in his 100th match, reaching the milestone in the 31st over at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
He was particularly severe against the spinners, but when he looked to shift gears, he was caught trying to loft Kedar Jadhav out of the park from the final ball of the 34th over.
Finch, a century-maker in the previous match at Indore, missed the chance of another when he offered a simple catch to Hardik Pandya at mid-on off paceman Umesh Yadav five balls later.
With the openers gone and skipper Steve Smith departing with just five more runs added to the total, Australia struggled to maintain the momentum as India's bowlers tightened things up.
Peter Handscomb and Travis Head then shared a 63-run stand before the visitors finished on 334/5 from 50 overs.