India vs Australia: Virat Kohli led India to a decisive victory in the second T20I.© AFP
India captain Virat Kohli set a new captaincy record in Australia after the visitors won the second T20I in Sydney to take an impregnable 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-game series. Kohli became the first Indian captain and second overall after South Africa’s Faf du Plessis to record series wins in all three formats of the game in Australia. Under Kohli’s captaincy, India won its first test series on Australian soil on its last Down Under tour in 2018-19 and won the international one-day series on that tour as well. However, the T20I series was tied 1-1, but after winning the second T20I in Sydney on Sunday, Kohli added another captaincy record to his kitty.
Kohli’s tour of Australia is limited by paternity leave granted to him by the Cricket Control Board in India (BCCI), as he will depart for India after the first test in Adelaide.
India gave a strong response in the game’s shorter format by winning the first two T20I in Canberra and Sydney after losing the previous ODI series 2-1.
Kohli won the draw on Sunday and placed Australia on what turned out to be another flat ground at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
With the help of reserve captain Matthew Wade’s 58 and Steven Smith’s 46, Australia posted a challenging 194 of 5 in their 20 overs.
India posted a strong response with starters KL Rahul (30) and Shikhar Dhawan (52) adding 56 within the first six overs before Kohli shot 40 on just 24 balls with two fours-sixes.
Hardik Pandya (42 without 22 balls) put the finishing touches to the game as India reviewed the Australian total with six wickets in hand and two balls to spare.
Promoted
India had won the first T20I by 11 races on Friday. The final T20I will be played on Tuesday, also at the SCG.
With this series victory, Kohli also became the first Indian captain to win the T20I series in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia – SENA countries.
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