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Dorff the destroyer leads Aussie rout

Behrendorff runs through India before Head, Henriques lead Australia chase to level series

The match in a tweet: Dorff The Destroyer helps level the series! Left-armer takes four wickets in 12 balls to lead Australia to big victory #INDvAUS

The scorecard: India 118 (Behrendorff 4-21, Zampa 2-19) lost to Australia 2-122 (Henriques 62 not out, Head 48 not out) by eight wickets with 27 balls to spare

The hero: Having bowled just one over on debut in Ranchi, Jason Behrendorff made the most of his full complement tonight, removing India's entire top four in the space of just 12 deliveries. Afternoon rain and muggy temperatures created perfect conditions for the left-armer to exploit and he did so to finish with 4-21 from four overs, the third-best figures by an Australian in T20I cricket. Most impressively of all was the fact that only one of his four wickets was due to a big shot from the batsman; the dismissals of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey would not have been out of place in ODI or Test cricket, the star Indian trio simply no match for Behrendorff's swing and nippy pace. 

Behrendorff blitz leaves India reeling

The first over: Having conceded two boundaries off the first three balls of the game, Behrendorff found his length to dismiss two of the best batsmen in the world in the space of three deliveries. A textbook in-swinger trapped Rohit dead in front for eight before another in-swinger found a small inside edge from Kohli and the ball ballooned off his pad for the paceman to take a return catch. With the IPL set to hold a 'mega auction' next year, such a stunning performance against two of the biggest names in the game would have put Behrendorff firmly on the radar of the cashed-up franchise owners.

Image Id: DF8FD6B3F09C436793C03F5B604D23DB Image Caption: Behrendorff removed Kohli and Rohit in his first over // BCCI

The stat: In his 48th T20 international innings, Kohli's dismissal for naught was the first duck of his career.

The catch: Australia's excellent start became even better when skipper David Warner pulled off an outstanding catch to remove Shikhar Dhawan and give Behrendorff his fourth. As Dhawan lofted a drive high over Warner's head at mid-off, the Australian turned and sprinted towards the boundary, turning his head skywards on several occasions to track the path of the ball. Having essentially done a full 360 degree turn while on the run, Warner steadied under the ball just metres from the boundary rope in time to watch it land in his outstretched hands. And didn't he enjoy it.

Image Id: E410C1D6600F4CAEBDA30044B032C593 Image Caption: Pumped! Warner celebrates a terrific catch // BCCI

The support cast: After a disappointing tour where he's been dropped from the ODI side and targeted by big-hitter Hardik Pandya, Adam Zampa (2-19 from four overs) finished off Behrendorff's good work to ensure there would be no middle-order fightback. The leg-spinner out-foxed IPL teammate MS Dhoni, luring him out of his crease with a wide delivery that was swiftly capitalised on by Tim Paine behind the stumps, before he clean bowled top-scorer Kedhar Jadhav with a wrong un. And his fiery celebration after each dismissal showed just how much it meant to him after a frustrating month away.

Image Id: C19A9A74CE634C6380DCD3E409F09039 Image Caption: Zampa celebrates the big scalp of Dhoni // BCCI

The partnership: One has been in the worst form drought of his short international career, the other is a popular whipping boy among Australian fans, but the two produced a match-sealing partnership for Australia to level the series. After David Warner and Aaron Finch were dismissed early in the run chase, Travis Head and Moises Henriques added 109 to seal the victory with 27 balls remaining. Henriques took advantage of a possible slice of luck when on just two - replays suggested he got a feather behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar but the hosts decided against a review - as he and Head combined for nine fours and fives sixes as the tourists won by eight wickets.

Image Id: EE05A0C2E8434E43997CCE0E10D55B54 Image Caption: Henriques struck four sixes in his 62 not out // BCCI

The wash-up: With the series locked at 1-1, the two sides will head to Hyderabad on Wednesday ahead of the series finale early on Saturday morning (AEST).

Australia XI: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marcus Stoinis, Tim Paine (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff

India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah


Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel.


T20 Fixtures


October 7: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad