By Jamie Lillywhite
Australia lost only their second Test match since the 2005 Ashes as India took 18.4 overs on the final day to win the second Test by 320 runs in Mohali.
The tourists resumed on 141-5 needing a further 375 to achieve a winning target never reached in a first-class match.
But only one run was added before seamer Zaheer Khan uprooted Brad Haddin's off-stump in the first over.
Zaheer struck twice in two balls in his next over and though Michael Clarke hit 69 he was last out in a total of 195.
The result, in terms of runs, was India's largest margin of victory and Australia's seventh heaviest.
It leaves the tourists in serious danger of losing a third series out of the last four in India, with only two matches remaining in which to overturn the 1-0 deficit.
The one slight blemish for India was a fine imposed on Zaheer, who was deprived of 80% of his match fee after being found guilty of a level two offence under the International Cricket Council's Code of Conduct regarding the spirit of the game.
Zaheer had an exchange of words with his old adversary Matthew Hayden after the Australian left-hander's dismissal on day four, and pleaded guilty to the charge at a disciplinary hearing with match referee Chris Broad.
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Respect for the opposition was something that we talked about in the pre-series meeting I had with both captains and so it was disappointing that Zaheer behaved in this way.
"I took into account the fact that Zaheer had a good disciplinary record. He also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was very apologetic while also promising not to repeat the offence."
Clarke and Haddin had stemmed the flow of Australian wickets with a determined stand of 83 on the fourth evening.
But Zaheer produced a masterful display of swing and seam to snare three wickets in four balls and end any lingering concerns about polishing off the Australian batting.
Having begun the day by pushing the ball across the right-handers, he moved the final delivery of the opening over back in to Haddin and splattered the timbers, the middle pole knocked askew in addition to the off being rolled over.
Cameron White needed some runs after a less than convincing bowling performance with his leg-spin, but made only a single before he was Zaheer's next victim.
The previous ball had swung away and beaten the edge, and White pushed towards a similar delivery, got a thin edge and jubilant skipper Mahendra Dhoni snared a neat low catch to his right behind the stumps.
Brett Lee, who defied the Indians with a spirited 35 in the first innings, is one of the more accomplished Test number nines, with five fifties to his name, but his stay was even shorter - one ball to be precise.
And precise is what Zaheer was, disguising the ball from the batsmen as he approached the crease and conjuring another magical ball for Lee, which swung late away from the defensive lunge to dislodge the battered off-stump once again.
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That put Clarke in something of an invidious position, with only Mitchell Johnson and the debutant number 11 Peter Siddle left for company.
But he cracked delightful boundaries through the covers off Ishant Sharma and Zaheer, and left-hander Johnson proved he was a capable batsmen by pulling a short one from Zaheer to the square-leg fence.
Clarke reached his ninth Test fifty after a mis-field from Harbhajan Singh, although he had to be reminded to raise his bat, as the landmark was met with virtual silence by the small crowd.
Johnson continued to play some stylish strokes, contributing 26 of a 50 partnership, but fell in soft fashion with a leading edge back to leg-spinner Amit Mishra.
Clarke was the final wicket to fall, caught by Virender Sehwag, who revelled in the moment with as much enthusiasm as debutant bowler Mishra.
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