Bengaluru, Feb 27 (IANS) Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with an explosive 38-ball 72 to propel India to 190/4 against Australia in the second and final Twenty20 international of the series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.
Besides Kohli, Lokesh Rahul and Mahendra Singh Dhoni also contributed with a valuable 47 and 40 runs, respectively.
Put in to bat, the hosts started on a decent note as openers Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan added 61 runs for the opening wicket in 7.1 overs before the former became a victim of Jason Behrendorff.
Dhawan (14) and Rishabh Pant (1) then departed in quick succession as India were reeling at 74/3. However, Dhoni (40 off 23) and Kohli (72 not out off 38) then forged a crucial 100-run partnership, lifting India past the 150-run mark.
Pat Cummins finally helped the visitors get rid of a dangerous looking Dhoni in the final over. However, it was too late as incoming batsman Dinesh Karthik and Kohli displayed some fireworks to propel India to a fighting 190/4 in the allotted 20 overs.
For Australia, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Cummins and D’ Arcy Short picked up a wicket each.
Brief scores: India 190/4 (Virat Kohli 72 not out, KL Rahul 47; Jason Behrendorff 1/17) vs Australia
–IANS
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