Finch hamstring injury puts Khawaja on alert

Aaron Finch's World T20 campaign could be in jeopardy after the Australian captain limped off the MCG with what appeared to be a hamstring injury last night.

Finch was unable to attend the post-match formalities, with veteran allrounder Shane Watson standing in to confirm that the opener had indeed suffered a hamstring injury.

"Aaron unfortunately is being assessed at the moment, but he's definitely done some form of damage to his hamstring," Watson told media after play.

"I don't know exactly the extent, but unfortunately for Finchy it's at least probably a week or so out based on my own personal experience a number of times. 

"It's very unfortunate for him because he batted beautifully tonight."

A week on the sidelines would rule Finch out of next week's Chappell-Hadlee ODI series against New Zealand, which starts on Wednesday in Auckland. It could open the door for the in-form Usman Khawaja to return to the one-day team for the first time in three years. 

A week could be the best-case scenario for Australia's T20 campaign, with a series in South Africa to proceed the World T20 tournament in India in March. 

The full extent of Finch's injury is unlikely to be known for at least 24 hours and is likely to have scans on Saturday. 

In the immediate future, it seems Australia will need to name a new T20 captain for Sunday's third and final KFC T20 INTL against India at the SCG, with the experienced Watson a strong contender for the job.

Test and ODI skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner are among the players scheduled to depart Australia on Saturday on the Qantas Tour of New Zealand ahead of a three-match ODI and two-Test series.

WATCH: Finch firing before injury strikes

Having appeared to struggle at times with running between wickets last night, Finch was called through for a quick single by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade in the 16th over. Finch was unable to make his ground and pulled up limping and seemed furious.

Finch had been visited in the middle by the Bupa Support Team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris twice before being run-out.

Raising concerns for Australia could be Finch's history with hamstring problems. Nearly 12 months ago the T20 skipper tore his left hamstring off the bone running a single for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

That injury required surgery but Finch was able to recover quicker than first expected and returned during the winter with county side Yorkshire.

Finch does hamstring and is run out attempting quick single

That hamstring issue was the first injury complaint Finch had endured in his professional career and further detail on the status of his current injury would not be known until he had been properly assessed and likely scanned by the Australian team's medical staff.

Finch had anchored Australia's innings with 74 before his dismissal, standing firm as wickets fell around him.

Australia needed to win the second KFC T20 INTL to keep the series alive, and retain Australia's hopes of securing top spot in all three formats, a dream that vanished when India secured a 27-run victory for a 2-0 series lead.