Hilfenhaus's rapid haul leaves India without hope

India 161 & 171 Australia 369 (Australia win by an innings and 37 runs)

A rampant Australia blitzed India's tail to inflict an innings defeat on the tourists with more than two days to spare in the third Test in Perth yesterday, giving the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-match series.

India's misery was compounded when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was banned for the final Test in Adelaide, beginning next week, after his team was found guilty of failing to maintain an acceptable over-rate in the match.

In a dramatic climax to the rout, Ben Hilfenhaus (4-54) took three wickets in five balls before Peter Siddle (3-43) removed Virat Kohli for 75 in the next over to end India's second innings at 171, just 10 runs better than their first.

Australia reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar trophy they relinquished in 2009 and captain Michael Clarke paid tribute to man of the match David Warner, whose innings of 180 included the fastest Test century by an opener, coming off just 69 balls.

"We should be very proud to have beaten the No 2-ranked Test team in the world," Clarke said. "It's a very satisfying victory. Our bowlers deserve a lot of credit for taking 20 wickets again against a very good batting side. I think we played really well and I couldn't be happier."