Ben Hilfenhaus marked his return to the limited-overs international arena with a five-wicket haul as Australia beat World Cup champion India by 110 runs on Sunday to retake the lead in the Tri-series standings.

The Australians rebounded from an eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Friday with a comprehensive performance against India.

Mike Hussey and Peter Forrest scored half centuries as Australia tallied 288 for five after winning the toss and batting.

Hilfenhaus and Brett Lee then tormented the top order, taking two wickets apiece in their opening spells to have India reeling at 36-4.

Only skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni defied the Australian attack, scoring 56 from 84 balls, including a driven six and a boundary on consecutive balls from Lee, before he was out to Hilfenhaus (5-35) in the 38th over.