India vs Australia: Virat Kohli lead India to a series-clinching win in the second T20I.© AFP
India skipper Virat Kohli set a new captaincy record in Australia following the guests won the second T20I in Sydney to take an unassailable 2- lead in the ongoing 3-match series. Kohli became the very first Indian captain and the second general following South Africa’s Faf du Plessis to register series wins in all 3 formats of the game in Australia. Under Kohli’s captaincy, India won their very first-ever Test series on Australian soil on their final tour Down Under in 2018-19 and won the One-day International series as nicely on that tour. The T20I series, even though, was tied 1-1, but following winning the second T20I in Sydney on Sunday, Kohli added but one more captaincy record to his kitty.
Kohli’s tour of Australia is restricted by the paternity leave granted to him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as he will leave for India following the very first Test in Adelaide.
India produced a powerful riposte in the shortest format of the game by winning the very first two T20Is in Canberra and Sydney following obtaining lost the preceding ODI series 2-1.
Kohli won the toss on Sunday and place Australia in on what turned out to be but one more flat wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Helped by stand-in captain Matthew Wade’s 58 and Steven Smith’s 46, Australia posted a difficult 194 for 5 in their 20 overs.
India posted a powerful a reply with openers KL Rahul (30) and Shikhar Dhawan (52) adding 56 inside the very first six overs prior to Kohli blitzed to 40 off just 24 balls with two fours and as several sixes.
Hardik Pandya (42 not out off 22 balls) offered the finishing touches to the match as India overhauled the Australian total with six wickets in hand and two balls to spare.
India had won the very first T20I by 11 runs on Friday. The final T20I will be played on Tuesday, also at the SCG.
With this series win, Kohli also became the very first Indian captain to win T20I series in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia – SENA nations.