India, which lost the first two matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground, scored 302-5 and bowled Australia out for 289 with three balls remaining.

Shardul Thakur took three wickets for 51 runs, including Steve Smith for seven in the former Australia captain's first failure of the series after scoring centuries in the first two matches.

Australia captain Aaron Finch scored 75 runs and Glenn Maxwell added 59.

Maxwell put the hosts in a position to win the match, but his dismissal in the 45th over saw Australia lose 4-21. The Australian effort was in marked contrast to that of India, which scored 84 runs from the same 5 1-2-over period in its innings.

After winning the toss and batting, India made up for a slow start with an unbeaten 150-run partnership between man-of-the-match Hardik Pandya (92) and Ravindra Jadeja (66), a record for India for the sixth-wicket against Australia. The pair added 110 runs in the last 10 overs.

Kohli posted his 60th ODI half-century before feathering a catch to Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey, a decision that went to the TV umpire after it was given not out on the field.

Pandya anchored the latter half of the innings, scoring his 92 from 76 balls, while Jadeja’s total came from 50 balls and included five boundaries and three sixes.

Australia won the first ODI by 66 runs and the second by 51 to clinch the series. Australia batted first in both wins. Teams batting first had won the last seven games at Manuka Oval before Wednesday's result.

Cameron Green made his ODI debut for Australia as a replacement for injured opener David Warner. Warner sustained a groin strain while fielding in Sunday’s series-deciding ODI win at the SCG.

After scores of 69 and 83 in the first two ODIs, Warner is hoping to recover in time for the test series, which starts Dec. 17 in Adelaide.

Green conceded 27 runs from his first four overs in ODI cricket. Agar returned the best figures for Australia with 2-44 from 10 overs, avoiding India’s run-scoring onslaught in the dying overs. Green scored 21 runs while batting in Australia's innings.

India lost both openers in the first 16 overs. Shikhar Dhawan played a loose shot off Sean Abbott to Ashton Agar in the covers for 16, and Shubman Gill was trapped lbw for 33 trying to sweep Agar.

Kohli became the fastest player to the 12,000 ODI career runs when he tapped Abbott to mid-off and took a quick single. Kohli achieved the feat in his 242nd innings, 59 innings quicker than Sachin Tendulkar.

The now-retired Tendulkar has the highest number of ODI runs with 18,426.

The teams meet again in Canberra on Friday in the first of three Twenty20 matches, followed by T20s in Sydney on Sunday and next Tuesday, also at the SCG.