Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with an explosive 38-ball 72 to propel India to 190/4 against Australia in the second and final Twenty20 international of the series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, the hosts started on a decent note as openers Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan added 61 runs for the opening wicket in 7.1 overs before the former became a victim of Jason Behrendorff.
Dhawan (14) and Rishabh Pant (1) then departed in quick succession as India were reeling at 74/3. However, Dhoni (40 off 23) and Kohli (72 not out off 38) then forged a crucial 100-run partnership, lifting India past the 150-run mark.
Pat Cummins finally helped the visitors get rid of a dangerous looking Dhoni in the final over. However, it was too late as incoming batsman Dinesh Karthik and Kohli displayed some fireworks to propel India to a fighting 190/4 in the allotted 20 overs.
For Australia, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Cummins and D' Arcy Short picked up a wicket each.
Brief scores: India 190/4 (Virat Kohli 72 not out, KL Rahul 47; Jason Behrendorff 1/17) vs Australia
--IANS
kk/bg
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)