It was a do or die game for team India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After losing the first match in Brisbane, the rain gods helped Australia survive with an abandoned game in Melbourne. The Men in Blue had to win the last game to level the series. Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli made sure India didn’t walk out of the T20I as the losers.

Aaron Finch won the toss for the first time and for the third time in a row, Australia batted first. The openers D’Arcy Short and Finch took a calculated approach. They mixed aggression with caution and got the team off to a good start. There wasn’t much help for the seamers with the new ball. As a result, the hosts accumulated 49 runs without loss from the powerplay.

Krunal bagged best figures by a spinner in Australia

The spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya came into the attack and applied the brakes on the scoring. Kuldeep drew first blood by sending back Finch for 28. Krunal removed Short and Ben McDermott off consecutive deliveries. Glenn Maxwell hung in there for a while but Krunal got the better of him as well.

Australians were 107/4 after 15 overs. Krunal came back to bag his 4th wicket in the form of Alex Carey. The dangerous Chris Lynn departed for 13 courtesy Jasprit Bumrah’s direct hit. Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile collected 27 runs from the last 2 overs to take Australia to a respectable 164/6.

The Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma came out with an aggressive intent. A huge Indian contingent in the crowd was entertained to the fullest as both the batsmen cleared the ropes consistently. In just 5 overs, the score raced off to 62. But Dhawan’s stay of 41 from 22 was ended by Mitchell Starc in the 6th over.

Kohli found form before the Tests

Rohit too got out in the next over to Adam Zampa for 23. Kohli, who batted at No.3 this time, was joined by KL Rahul in the middle. The duo began to consolidate the chase after a flourishing start. After 12 overs, India was at 102/2. Against the run of play, Rahul tried to break the shackles and threw his wicket away to Maxwell for 14.

Rishabh Pant walked in and walked out soon as he was dismissed by Andrew Tye off the first ball. Kohli then came into his own and took control of the chase. Dinesh Karthik played the perfect foil to him. The Indian captain smashed every bowler that came into the attack and went past his fifty. With 2 balls to spare, he steered India home to level the series 1-1.

Match Summary

Australia won the toss and opted to bat first

Australia: 164/6 in 20 overs

D’Arcy Short 33 (29), Aaron Finch 28 (23)

Krunal Pandya 36/4 (4), Kuldeep Yadav 19/1 (4)

India: 168/4 in 19.4 overs

Virat Kohli 61* (41), Shikhar Dhawan 41 (22)

Adam Zampa 22/1 (4), Glenn Maxwell 25/1 (4)

India won by 6 wickets

Player of the Match: Krunal Pandya

Player of the Series: Shikhar Dhawan

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Krunal and Virat’s heroics

Superb innings from @SDhawan25 at the top and @imVkohli remains unbeaten in a run-chase, and when that happens India invariably wins. Congratulations India on the win today #AUSvIND — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 25, 2018

Virat Kohli 2144* runs in T20Is, goes past Brendon McCullum (2140). He now occupies 4th position in T20I cricket!#IndvAus#AUSvIND — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) November 25, 2018

You get the feeling @imVkohli is going to be the difference between the 2 teams over the new few weeks ….. #AusvInd — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 25, 2018

India have to find a way to use this magnificent form that Dinesh Karthik is in. He is batting better than at any other time in his career. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/imVkohli/status/1066665632211451906

India has NEVER lost the last T20i of a three match bilateral series… #AusvInd — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/cricketaakash/status/1066649652521394176

Once again spin influencing the middle overs! #AusvInd #T20 — Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) November 25, 2018

The best pitch of the T20i series. Sensible batting will make it a high scoring match. Liking the way Kohli has used the resources thus far. #AusvInd — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 25, 2018

Wonderful innings from Kohli, great at finishing the job and a good win for India. Some of the batters though will be disappointed at not making use of the opportunities. #AusvInd — Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) November 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/dizzy259/status/1066652215358582784

Kohli over long off. Wow. — Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 25, 2018

Virat Kohli has remained Not Out 14 times when chasing in T20Is and India won the match every time. #IndvAus — Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) November 25, 2018

Since losing in ICC World T20, 2016 India have not suffered a defeat in a series / tournament consisting of 2 or more result-oriented games. Out of 11 such series India have won 9 and drawn 2.#AUSvIND — Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) November 25, 2018

Great game of cricket tonite. Good fight from Aust but Kohli is the best all round batsmen in world cricket and the most orthodox. All batsmen should take note of how he plays. — Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) November 25, 2018

Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram