India showing they are a class above, says Aaron Finch

Delhi: Opening batsman Aaron Finch marked his return to the Australia side with a defiant century in the third one-day international against India but the thrill was tempered by another loss for Steve Smith`s struggling side.

Finch, a member of Australia`s 2015 World Cup-winning team, can scarcely remember a tougher run playing for his country in the short format.

Australia`s five-wicket defeat in Indore on Sunday saw them fall 3-0 behind in the five-match series. The defeat was their 11th in their last 13 ODIs away from home, while the other two matches were rain-affected no results.

Finch, who scored 124 in Indore after missing the defeats in Chennai and Kolkata with a calf problem, said Australia had failed to take their chances against India but conceded there was a clear difference between the sides.

"You have to play well but I think you also have to go in with the right attitude and make sure that when you do get an opportunity to win a game, you don`t let that slip," Finch said in comments published on Cricket Australia`s website (cricket.com.au).

"We`ve been in a couple of good positions in the first few games and as soon as you give India a sniff, they`ll beat you nine times out of 10.

"You have to play 100 percent to beat (India) in these conditions," Finch said. "If you play 90 percent, it`s not good enough here.

"There`s obviously a gap between the sides at the moment and they`re proving that.

"They`re 3-0 up, they`re the number one side in the world and there`s just a few things we need to tinker with as players to bridge that gap and get the results going our way."

Australia were whitewashed 5-0 away to South Africa last year and Finch said the mounting losses were not helping with confidence.

"Whenever you`re losing, it`s never easy," said the 30-year-old, who struck his eighth ODI ton in Indore.

"Winning away from home is what every side strives to achieve and I think whenever you start losing, you can lose a little bit of confidence in yourself and in the way you`re playing."

Finch was understandably glad to score some runs, especially after going to lengths to convince the team`s physiotherapist of his fitness to play.

"If (the calf) had have gone again last night, I might have been in a bit of strife," he said.

"So it was nice for that to hold up."

The fourth ODI is in Bengalaru on Thursday.