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India secure T20 series with 27-run MCG win

India run out 27-run winners but apparent injury to Aaron Finch a real worry for Aussies

The match in a tweet: India triumph! Another Brilliant Kohli knock sets up big chase but Finch hamstring injury turns Aussies' night bad to worse in 27-run defeat

The hero: Virat Kohli is in rare, rare form and that didn't change at the MCG. He followed his 90 from Adelaide with a superb unbeaten 59 from just 33 balls. Capitalising on the 97-run opening stand from Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, Kohli hit seven fours and one six in his explosive innings. 

The run out of Rohit threatened to curb India's scoring rate in the final four overs, but Kohli went on the attack as he and skipper MS Dhoni added another 41 runs to the tally. 

WATCH: Kohli crushes Aussie bowlers at MCG

The innings took Kohli's T20 International average above fifty and continued his brilliant run – just one month into 2016, he had scored two tons and five half-centuries and is averaging 67.89.

The turning point: Shaun Marsh's wicket was pivotal. Australia were going along nicely at 0-94 in the 10th over and had just breathed a massive sigh of relief when Shikhar Dhawan dropped a sitter off Aaron Finch in the deep. 

Unfortunately for the hosts, Marsh went big the very next ball and this time, Hardik Pandya held on to it at long on. It sparked a collapse of 5-30 as Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson and then Aaron Finch followed suit, dashing Australia's hopes of levelling the series. 

The support cast: India's batsmen have been in a rich vein of form and that didn't change at the MCG. Rohit Sharma made a steady start and then exploded, thumping five boundaries and two sixes on his way to a 47-ball 60, while Melbourne-based India opener Shikhar Dhawan used all his local knowledge to belt Australia's bowlers around the park to score 42. 

WATCH: Super Shikar's 'home' ground advantage

With the ball, Yuvraj Singh was excellent, taking 1-7 from his two overs and snaring the big wicket of Maxwell.

The consolation effort:  Having scored 44 in Adelaide, skipper Aaron Finch was Australia's key batsman as the hosts attempted to chase down India's heft total. He brought up his half-century from 27 balls and ultimately posted 74 from 48 deliveries before being run out in an entertaining innings featuring eight boundaries and two sixes. 

WATCH: Aaron Finch limps off after run out

But in worrying news for the hosts, Finch appeared to have picked up a hamstring injury that could put his World T20 chances in jeopardy. Finch limped off the MCG after being run out, having appeared to be hampered by the hamstring during the innings, visited by the team physio.

The debuts: There were not one, not two, but three new faces in Australia's XI in Melbourne, with Andrew Tye, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon all presented with their T20 caps by former Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris. 

WATCH: Ryno presents debutants with T20 caps

Lyon, called up in place of legspinner Cameron Boyce, was punished during India's brutal 97-run opening stand. His first over went for 15 runs, including a high full toss that was no-balled, and he didn't get another chance to bowl. 

Tye fared better amid the early onslaught, with his first two overs going for nine runs, while he picked up the prized wicket of India skipper MS Dhoni as his first T20I scalp, finishing with 1-28 from his four.

The shot: Dhwan played a number of brilliant shots in his 42 from 32 balls, but none better than his spectacular six in the fourth over that had the large contingent of India fans at the MCG in raptures. Dhawan latched onto the delivery from John Hastings to slam a massive 107m six that went at least 20 rows back into the crowd.

WATCH: Dhawan dispatches the Duke into the stands

The reception: It was the sort of noise you'd usually expect to hear at a rock concert. Virat Kohli's entrance to the Melbourne Cricket Ground was greeted with a deafening roar from the huge Indian contingent in the stands. He didn't disappoint either, stroking his way to a speedy half-century.

WATCH: Kohli gets Mumbai-style reception in Melbourne

The run out: Rohit Sharma was going along beautifully on 60 when he fell victim to a huge mix up with Virat Kohli. Turning for a second run, Rohit failed to notice Kohli's raised hand signalling to him to stop and the opener had almost made it the whole way down the pitch before he realised his error, as Matthew Wade took the return throw from Maxwell and completed the run out.

WATCH: Rohit run-out after super knock

The insight: Australia skipper Aaron Finch was mic'ed up with the Wide World of Sports commentary team in the field and he offered a very interesting insight into what goes on in the middle, sharing his conference with bowler Andrew Tye as they set the field for Dhawan.

WATCH: Finch and Tye talk tactics on open mic

The drops: With Finch appeared to be hampered by a hamstring concern, he opted to stand his ground and blast India's bowling attack. He was put down three times by the tourists, including twice in three balls when Rishi Dhawan dropped over the rope for six before Shikhar Dhawan put down a sitter in the deep.

WATCH: India suffer a case of the Dhawan drops at the 'G

The stat: After his 59 not out, Kohli now has an average of 50.65 in T20Is, making him the only batsman with more than 500 T20I runs with an average higher than 50. The next highest average is Aaron Finch at 41.

The wash-up: The series as lost but Australia will be eager to claim a consolation win when they head to Sydney for Sunday's third T20 at the SCG. Expect plenty more changes to the XI - Steve Smith and David Warner sat out on Friday, and Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and John Hastings will join them on a flight to New Zealand tomorrow to prepae for the Chappell-Hadlee series. 

Meanwhile, Cameron Bancroft will make his T20 debut on Sunday – as wicketkeeper – while Travis Head, Cameron Boyce and Shaun Tait expected to get another run.

Game 1

The match in a tweet: Happy Republic Day! Kohli's master class sets Australia a huge chase before India's spin twins suffocated the hosts to take a 1-0 lead

The hero: Virat Kohli showed why he the most dangerous limited-overs batsman in world with a stunning 90 from 55 balls. He started slow, scoring 19 from his first 18 balls, but with a solid grasp of the pace of the pitch and a foundation set, the right-hander exploded, hitting seven fours and two sixes in his next 37 deliveries. Kohli was particularly savage against Kane Richardson, taking 18 from nine balls he faced from the local lad. And unlike some of the modern day T20 specialists, Kohli relied on traditional cricket strokes to score his runs – not a reverse sweep, lap shot or ramp was to be seen. 

WATCH: Kohli's T20 masterclass

The turning point: Steve Smith's wicket proved pivotal. Without the burden of captaincy, Smith looked relaxed in the field and at the crease. In the over he fell the Test and ODI skipper took up the role of commentator, and while it worked wonders for the Southern Stars in the day's earlier encounter, it may have distracted Smith who fell off the last ball in the ninth over to Ravi Ashwin. It sparked a collapse of 6-30 from which Australia never recovered. 

WATCH: Cheeky Kohli gives Smith a send-off

The support cast: India's spinners first put the brakes on Australia's chase then derailed it completely. At 1-89 in the ninth over, the hosts were cruising before India skipper MS Dhoni introduced spin twins Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. 

While Ashwin's first over went for 17, his next three went for just 11 with the big scalps of Finch and Shane Watson in tow. Jadeja was just as effective, claiming Smith and trapping debutant Travis Head lbw (although ball-tracking technology thought otherwise) in a four-over spell of 2-21. 

WATCH: Spin twins cause trouble for Aussie middle order

Australia will face plenty of spin in the World T20, and you can expect to see even more spin against Finch's men in the remaining two games of this series..  

The consolation effort: Shane Watson only scored 12 with the bat, but the veteran proved his worth with the ball, claiming 2-24 from four frugal overs. Desperate for a wicket, Finch called upon the allrounder and he delivered, removing Rohit Sharma with his first delivery. Four balls later, Watson had Shikhar Dhawan with a clever off-speed bouncer that found the edge through to the wicketkeeper. After two overs, Watson had the rare figures of 2-5, but a late assault from Kohli brought them back to some sense of T20 normality. 

WATCH: Wily Watson picks up two big wickets

The debut: There were two on show and both would probably like a do-over. Australia's Travis Head bowled one over for nine runs, while with the bat, the left-hander could only manage two before he was fired by umpire John Ward. 

Head can feel a touch aggrieved after replays showed the ball struck the pad outside the line of off-stump. 

WATCH: Head receives T20 cap from Jason Gillespie

While Head had a rough night, Hardik Pandya's went from horror show to Hollywood. His first over in international cricket went for 19 with five wides. His next over (yep, he got another) went for 11 (one wide), conceding the biggest six of the night. 

WATCH: Lynn launches Hardik for monster six

BUT, he did manage to claim a wicket when Chris Lynn laced a wide half-volley straight to Yuvraj Singh at cover. It bought him another over and with it the wicket of Matthew Wade who fell holing out in the deep. 

WATCH: Hardik's horror first over

The second coming: The 'Wild Thing" is back! And Shaun Tait lived up to his name, producing a mix of the unplayable, unwatchable and uncontrollable. The 32-year-old could have had a wicket in his first over if not for a misjudgement by Kane Richardson on the fine-leg rope. 

Typically, Tait followed it up with a seed next ball, swinging away and beating the outside edge. Perhaps it was the nerves of playing his first game in almost five years, but Tait erratic and ultimately costly, going for 0-45 from four overs. 

Mike Hussey, speaking on the Wide World of Sports coverage, still believes Tait will go to India for the World T20, saying his extra pace is key on the slow wickets, so expect plenty more the Wild Thing!

The shot: Kohli played a number of master strokes, but none was better than the imperious flick off Tait that zoomed over the mid-wicket fence faster than a speeding bullet. Spearing the 15-overs-old ball into middle-stump, Tait was left to watch on in disbelief as the ball rocketed off Kohli's meaty blade and over the rope. 

There was no big flourish from the Indian, just a wicked whip of the wrists that used the extreme pace of the speedster.  MS Dhoni also nonchalantly crushed his first ball for six over long-on. That was pretty ridiculous.  

WATCH: Kohli's whip for six

The drop: Kane Richardson had a torrid time at fine-leg in the opening stages. Fielding 10 paces in from the boundary, Richardson had plenty to do when Rohit Sharma top-edged a Tait thunderbolt in his direction. The bearded fast bowler did well to scramble back, but as the ball closed in he trod on Toblerone-shaped boundary rope, putting him off enough to spill the chance for six. Two overs later, another Rohit hook went flying to Richardson, only this time it got there on the bounce and a desperate dive couldn't prevent four more.  

WATCH: Rohit living on the edge early

The drop II: Leg-spinner Cameron Boyce got his legs in a spin in making an ungainly mess of a skied opportunity from a blessed Rohit. Faulkner produced an edge off a wild Rohit swipe across the line, but by the time the ball had almost completed its descent, Boyce had run too far, pirouetting mid-air and barely getting a hand on it. 

WATCH: Boyce in a spin

The stat: Kohli really, really, really likes batting at the Adelaide Oval. In six matches for India, across all formats, Kohli has scored 624 runs at 89.14. His four most recent scores read: 115, 141, 107, 90no.

The wash-up: With 17 in the squad, expect bulk changes for Australia for game two in Melbourne, while India, encouraged by the work of Ashwin and Jadeja, could call upon Harbhajan Singh for the MCG clash.