Hyderabad, Nov 5: Sachin Tendulkar produced a breathtaking 175 to very nearly take India to a sensational win in a nerve-wrecking fifth cricket one-dayer against Australia but the hosts flaundered in the dying stages to succumb to a three-run defeat and give the visitors a 3-2 lead in the series.

Chasing Australia mammmoth 350 for four, built mainly around Shaun Marsh's 112 and Shane Watson's 93, the Indians rode on Tendulkar's heroic 141 ball knock to come within sniffing distance of a remarkable win but the tailenders faltered under pressure to be all out for 347 with two balls to spare.

It was a remarkable exhibition of strokeplay by Tendulkar, who not only notched up his 45th ODI hundred but also became the first cricketer in the history of the game to cross the 17,000 run mark.

It was also the fastest century by an Indian against the Australians as well as the highest individual score against the visitors.

The jam-packed Rajiv Gandhi International stadium witnessed an extraordinary contest which saw as many as 697 runs being scored in a game which fortunes fluctuated from one end to the other till the very end.

The two teams will now travel to Guwahati for the sixth one-dayer to be held on Sunday. . - Agencies