Captain Ricky Ponting top-scored in the first match of the one-day series with a knock of 74 in Vadodara, while opener Tim Paine made a steady half-century, Cameron White chipped in with 51 and Michael Hussey scored 73 off just 54 deliveries as Australia amassed a commanding 292 for eight.

India replied with a half-century from Gautam Gambhir (68) and useful knocks from Virat Kohli (30) and Dhoni (34), but their dismissals in quick succession left the home side needing 92 from the last 10 overs.

Harbhajan Singh (49) and Praveen Kumar (40 not out) revived the chase with a thrilling stand worth 83 for the seventh wicket and, under their charge, India were left needing only nine from the last over.

Peter Siddle, who had leaked 13 runs in the 48th over, bowled Harbhajan with the second delivery of the final over and conceded only four runs as India's response fell just short.

Despite the defeat, Dhoni believed India would bounce back.

"You would expect matches to be this close when the two top teams play at this level," Dhoni said.

"There will be ups and downs through the series.

"But our bowling at the death has to improve and we need the top batsmen to contribute.

"If you look at it, only Gambhir got a half-century and when you are chasing 290-odd you need the top order to fire.

"We are learning and we have the experience in the side for us to bounce back.

"We would have been happier chasing around 270, especially on a track like this.

"It got a bit slower and lower towards the end and they bowled really well in the middle overs with the old ball.

"We lost four wickets in the powerplay and after that we were really out of the game until Harbhajan and Praveen brought us back.

"It was the contribution from the lower order which really got us that close."

Ponting was relieved with the victory.

"It was a terrific game of cricket in the end and we would have been disappointed had we lost," he said.

"They kept fighting until the last ball and Harbhajan got them really close, but we are obviously happy we are 1-0 up.

"Our performance was pretty good until the last six or seven overs of the game.

"We did a good job batting first to get to that sort of total, but we knew that they could chase it down because the outfield was so fast and the wicket held up pretty well right through the course of the game.

"The ball swung around a bit in the morning, but we expected that and perhaps it was a good toss to win.

"We started well with the ball and had them under pressure earlier on, but I think we were just good enough to get across the line."

The seventh-wicket pair had clobbered Shane Watson for 20 runs in the penultimate over, setting the stage for a tense final over.

Ponting said he had instructed Siddle to stay focused.

"I told him to be really calm and to have just one single thought and not to get confused with what he's trying to do.

"He executed it really well in the end."

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