The full house crowd at the big bowl got their money's worth when the little master hammered a magnificent 141 off 127 balls as the Indians recuperated from a shaky start to pile on a mammoth total of 307 for eight in their 50 overs.
And, as if that blitzkrieg was not enough, Tendulkar then went on to capture four wickets with his innocuous yet very effective mixed gems of spinners to send the Australians packing for 263 in 48.1 overs.
India were reeling at eight for two in the third over after left-handed opener Saurav Ganguly (1) and skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, who was out for a duck, returned to the dressing room in the space of eight deliveries.
Ganguly was a little unfortunate when the Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist clung on to an outstanding catch diving to his right. On any other day, it would have been a certain four.
Azhar, appearing in his record 300th one-day international, played only three deliveries before being deceived by a slower one from Fleming and was adjudged leg before by umpire Steve Bucknor.
But Tendulkar, who has a wonderful record against the Australians, changed the face of the day-night match when he raced on to score his second highest score in style. The highest centurion in one-day cricket, reached his 19th ton off only 95 balls.
The talented right-hander, considered the best batsman in the world, hammered 13 sweetly-timed boundaries and three massive sixes in his 191-minute flawless cricket at the crease.
Tendulkar, who scored back-to-back centuries against the Aussies in their last two meetings, started the match from where he had left at Sharjah. He was particularly harsh against seamer Kasprowicz and left-arm spinner Bradley Young, who conceded two consecutive sixes over long-on in one prodigal over from which he yielded 18 runs.
Tendulkar put on 140 runs for the third wicket with Rahul Dravid, who scored a polished 48 off 80 balls studded with three fours. Dravid missed a well-deserved half century when he sacrificed his wicket for his more illustrious partner, who was chasing a non-existent second run.
Tendulkar then went on to add 132 runs for the fourth wicket with vice-captain Ajay Jadeja before being run out in the 46th over. But by then India were strongly poised at 280 for four with 29 balls remaining.
Jadeja scored a fine 71 off 65 balls. He clubbed five fours and celebrated his 22nd one-day half-century with a huge six over long-off off off-spinner Darren Lehmann in the 47th over. But the Indian lower middle-order failed to keep up the tempo set by Tendulkar and Jadeja, and could manage only 27 runs from the slog overs with the loss of another four wickets. For Australia, Kasprowicz returned the best figure of three wickets for a staggering 71 runs in his 10 overs.
Steve Waugh, the Australian captain, was still nursing hopes when his twin brother Mark Waugh and Gilchrist gave their side a rollicking start. The right-left combination put on 51 runs in only 7.5 overs in which Gilchrist scored a run-a-ball 25 laced with a quartet of fours.
But the rot of the Australian innings started when Mark Waugh, who was on a 79-ball 74, departed after playing a rash shot in an eventful over from Indian left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi.
In that 28th over, Brendon Jullian, who was promoted up in the order, clobbered 17 runs from the first four deliveries that included a six over long-off and a four through the extra cover. But Mark, carried away by the sudden rush of blood, looked for more and danced down the track only to pay the penalty through his nose. The classy right-hander missed the line completely, leaving wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia to effect a simple stumping.
Tendulkar then removed skipper Steve Waugh, who offered a simple return catch after scoring only seven, and had dangerman Michael Bevan clean bowled in quick succession to effectively dismiss any chance of an Australian comeback.
Tendulkar, the unanimous choice for the man-of-the-match award, then killed off the Australian resistance when he had Young caught at mid-wicket by Dravid in the penultimate over of the affair. Tendulkar finished with four for 38 runs in his 9.1 overs.
India will now take on the winners of the Pakistan-West Indies match, slated for a 2 pm start today, in the second semifinal on Saturday.