cricket

Updated: Nov 25, 2018 18:31 IST

Virat Kohli scored a brilliant half century and Krunal Pandya claimed a career-best haul of 4/36 as India defeated Australia in the third T20 International in Sydney to level the three-match series 1-1 in Sydney on Sunday.

This was the Indian cricket team’s 11th T20I win vs Australia — joint most for India against a team along with Sri Lanka and it was also their second consecutive victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

India’s run of seven consecutive T20I series wins came to an untimely end after the 2nd T20I against Australia in Melbourne was abandoned due to rain. However, thanks to this victory, they were able to claim their 10th consecutive series without defeat for India in T20Is with their last series defeat coming way back in 2016.

Kohli’s sublime 41-ball knock and his 60-run unbeaten stand with Dinesh Karthik (22 not out off 18) gave India the much needed series levelling win ahead of the all important Test series beginning December 6 at Adelaide.

The captain’s perfectly executed chase in 19.4 overs came after Shikhar Dhawan (41 off 22 balls) and Rohit Sharma (23 off 16 balls) provided a flying start to the innings.

READ: India vs Australia: Virat Kohli creates history in Sydney T20I

Earlier, Krunal Pandya took career-best figures of 4-36 as Australia were restricted to 164-6 in 20 overs.

“Things become pretty easy when those two (Shikhar and Rohit) guys do the job for us. We thought the wicket slowed down with the old ball. That’s how T20 cricket goes. You lose momentum, you gain it. DK did really well at the end. Maxi and Zampa both bowled well, especially Maxi who has a gut feel of the batsmen,” Kohli said after the match.

“Overall, skill wise, we were better on the day than Australia. When our openers get into the zone they’re difficult to stop. I come in at three and attempt to take us home. With the ball, we were more professional today. I thought it was a 180 wicket. Weather is uncontrollable. These are things you have to accept as a sportsman. A level series is a fair reflection of how the teams have played. Tonight also the fans were really loud and motivated us to the win,” he added.