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Match Report:

Scorecard

Kohli masterclass as Aussies spun out

Virat Kohli smashed unbeaten 90 as India's spinners tied up Aussies to cruise to a big win

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.