Aus v Ind 2nd T20I review: India seals the series with a solid performance

Aaron Finch appeared to pick up an injury as Australia suffered a worrying batting collapse to slump to a 27-run loss against India in their Twenty20 clash at the MCG. The loss saw the tourists take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.India was sent into bat by Aussie captain Finch and their two openers took a couple of overs before launching into the opposition attack.

Rohit Sharma (60 off 47 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (42 off 32) combined for a 97-run partnership that laid a strong foundation for the team.  The first wicket fell when Dhawan attempted a reverse sweep off Maxwell and hit the ball straight down the throat of Chris Lynn, with the irony certainly not lost on the Australian all-rounder.

That brought Kohli to the crease and the Indian star batsman continued his outstanding form on his way to 59 off 33 balls, hitting seven fours and a six. It was a dominant batting display from Kohli who added yet another man of the match trophy to his ever-growing collection. MS Dhoni made 14 off 9 including 2 smashing fours one of which nearly took James Faulkner out.

Three bowlers made their T20I debuts for Australia, with Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland and Andrew Tye all getting the call-up. Lyon (0-15 from 1 over) and Boland (0-30 from 1 overs) got some stick but Tye was impressive on his way to figures of 1-28 from 4 overs.

As had been the case in Adelaide, Australia’s openers began with fluency and power, this time rollicking to 94 inside 10 overs. However, the introduction of spin had again drawn chances, as Marsh and Finch (thrice) were both reprieved by MS Dhoni and his outfielders.

Finch (74) looked like guiding Australia to a successful run chase before his dismissal was part of a poor run for the Aussie batsmen in which they lost five wickets for 30 runs. Worse still, he had been struggling with a hamstring problem for much of his innings and appeared to aggravate it further as he attempted to ground his bat after a mix-up with Matthew Wade.

The collapse was triggered when Marsh (23) responded to his good fortune by trying his luck yet again against R Ashwin and being caught at long on. Chris Lynn (2) did not last long, skying Hardik Pandya to be taken safely by Dhoni, before Glenn Maxwell (1) was lured down by Yuvraj and stumped in the blink of an eye by India’s captain. Jadeja then took a brilliant return catch from Shane Watson (15) that firmly put India in the box seat. James Faulkner was unluckily out when Dhoni fumbled onto the wicket for an accidental stumping that ended home side’s challenge.

It was a great comeback from India after the opening bowlers Ashish Nehra (0/34 from 4) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/37 from 4) had failed to contain the Aussie openers. The spinner though proved effective as Jadeja finished with 2/32 from 4 and R Ashwin with 1/27 from 4. Yuvraj (1/7 from 2) and Pandya (1/17 from 2) did very well to complete the 5th bowlers quota.

Brief Scores:

India: 184/3 in 20 overs (R Sharma 60; V Kohli 59*; A Tye 1/28)

Australia: 157/8 in 20 overs (A Finch 74; A Jadeja 2/32)

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli (India)