2nd T20I: Australia v India

India won by 8 wickets A comprehensive win in the end, controlling the game throughout. Australia's innings never got up and running as India's fielders and bowlers maintained a stranglehold, and with such a modest target the tourists elected to take the pragmatic approach. It's taken them six games, but they finally have a win and will be a force to be reckoned with in the one-day tri-series that follows. We'll see you then.

Over 20 McKay 0-0-0-4 135-2 - The field closes in to stop the single. Three dot balls. Surely they're not going to stuff this up, are they? No, they're not - Gambhir gets inside the line and swipes through a gap in the leg side, so India have their win.

Over 19 Hussey 0-0-1-1-0-0 131-2 - There's a huge number of India fans in the ground, and they're all on their feet now ready to celebrate the first win of the tour. Dhoni knows how to build a moment though, and waits for the right balls. Even with one required, he borrows Gambhir's helmet and tries a nudge for a single before being sent back. In fact, we'll need another over. Scores level.

Over 18 M Marsh 1-0-3-3-1-1 129-2 - This has been a very disciplined showing from India. Pity it's taken them this long to get organised, but at least it should make for a good Commonwealth Bank series. Gambhir clips through the leg-side to bring up his fifty in 54 balls - he's hit just three fours, and has epitomised the calmness of this run-chase. A single from the final ball keeps Dhoni on strike with just three runs needed.

Over 17 Lee 1-1-1-4-1-0 120-2 - Lee returns for his final over, and nearly loses his foot when Dhoni lashes a ball straight back at him. Would have been four most probably, but instead it's one and Lee hobbles back to his mark. A misfield pretty much ends the contest - Dhoni gets inside the line to pull away fine, and McKay slides over the ball as he makes his way round the rope. He stops the next one, drawing ironic cheers.

Over 16 M Marsh 1-wd-2-4-1-0-1 112-2 - It's India's game to lose now, and they don't look to be in the mood to stuff it up. Dhoni just about finishes it in fact, stealing a quick single that turns into two thanks to the pressure he puts on the fielders. Then he thrashes a short ball over backward point for four. Just 20 needed now.

Over 15 Hogg 1-0-1-0-1-0 102-2 - Hogg back on now, and he gets a slip to Dhoni as Australia look for quick wickets. Dhoni is calm though, and he waits for one to flick off his pads for a single. Just three from the over as Hogg brings all his wiles to bear. India need 30 from 30.

Over 14 M Marsh 2-1-1-W-1-1 99-2 - WICKET! An inkling of hope for Australia as Kohli's luck runs out. Lack of foot movement cost him here - both feet remaining rooted to the spot as he tried to guide the ball away fine. An edge is gratefully snaffled by Matthew Wade. MS Dhoni has decided to take the reponsibility on and has promoted himself to number four. He's immediately off the mark with a single to the leg side.

Over 13 Gambhir 1-1-0-1-4-1 93-1 - McKay returns, and Gambhir continues to quietly pick off the singles without any undue fuss. Kohli is playing the aggressor, and is enjoying some fortune as well - this time he tires to pull but gets a top edge over the keeper for four. Just 39 runs needed from 42 balls.

Over 12 Doherty 0-1-1-4-1-1 85-1 - Cracking shot from Kohli, who rocks back and whips the ball wide of long-on for four. Hit it with such power that the fielder on the boundary couldn't get round. Australia can't afford to concede boundaries, and the match is slowly drifting away from them despite there having been only one big over in the innings so far..

Over 11 Hussey 1-1-0-2-0-2 77-1 - David Hussey's first over played a key role the other night, breaking a key partnership, and he puts in a quiet one here. Gambhir gets down the pitch to chip a couple of deliveries over extra cover for two runs though, so India take six from the over. They need 55 to win from 54 balls now.

Over 10 M Marsh 1-0-2-0-1-1 71-1 - Mitchell Marsh on now, and after Gambhir drops the ball dead in front of him Kohli takes on the new bowler in a foot race to the striker's end and wins. Kohli goes on to pull through midwicket for two and get beaten by a ripper from Marsh, before nudging a single down the ground. Australia bowling just well enough to keep themselves in the game, but wickets in hand are surely the key here.

Over 9 Hogg 4-1-4-1-1-1 66-1 - Nothing like a good streaky boundary to upset the opposition. Kohli is found reaching for one outside off stump, but edges it away to the boundary for four. Australia are desperately trying to build scoreboard pressure, and that won't help. Neither will Gambhir dancing down the track to loft the ball over extra cover for four.

Over 8 Doherty 1-0-1-wd-1-3-1 54-1 - Left-armer Doherty bowling around the wicket to left-hander Gambhir, which is an interesting plot to stop Gambhir scoring. Gambhir manages to rock back and cut one away nice and late, and some terrific running by Kohli somehow brings a third run. That's the sort of urgency needed to lift the tourists and maintain their confidence.

Over 7 Hogg 1-0-W-0-2-1 46-1 - WICKET! Brad Hogg makes the breakthrough, but there's more than an element of luck about it as Sehwag smashes a low full toss straight to short extra cover. He'd nearly chipped the previous ball back to Hogg after a clever piece of bowling, and Hogg does deserve some credit for this dismissal because of the flight and dip on the delivery as Sehwag double-stepped. Virat Kohli gets off the mark with a cut through point for two.

Over 6 Doherty 1-6-3-1-1-1 42-0 - Huuuge six from Sehwag, who shows his first sign of aggression. It's his first ball against spin, but he's down the track straight away to belt Xavier Doherty back over his head and almost into the second tier. 104m, we're told. A slip in the field allows him to get three from the next delivery, so India are back above the required rate despite that quiet last over from Lee.

Over 5 Lee 1-0-0-1-0-1 29-0 - Australia need someone to spark them, and George Bailey is still backing Lee to do it. He does manage to tuck Sehwag up nicely, but because Sehwag isn't going after every delivery he's quite happy to get in behind the good balls and then guide one to third man for a single. Lee beats Gambhir with an excellent delivery, but while it's a great over it won't overly worry the tourists, who remain firmly in control.

Over 4 McKay 1-1-4-1-0-1 26-0 - Lovely shot from Sehwag - he generally likes to whack the ball, but he shows a deft touch here to guide a straight ball away fine enough on the off-side to get four. He seems content to play to the situation here, rather than go hell-for-leather unnecessarily as he often tends to. A boundary and four singles bring eight from the over, which is more than the required rate demands.

Over 3 Lee 4-0-1-1-1-0 18-0 - Bad mistake by Lee, bowling on Sehwag's legs. Four runs through backward square-leg are the obvious result, as the right-hander flicks him away with a flourish. India settle for singles thereafter, which is all they really need.

Over 2 McKay 0-0-0-0-wd-4-0 11-0 - Clint McKay starts really well on his return to the Aussie side, beating Gambhir with a couple of lifters around off-stump. But then he fires a wide down leg side, and sends the next one a touch too wide of off. Gambhir nudges at it, and half-guides, half-edges it away for four. That aside, India clearly aren't looking to over-commit here.

Over 1 Lee 0-4-wd-0-0-1-0 6-0 - Not a huge task ahead of India here, and they have their tails up after a dominant performance in the field. Gautam Gambhir opens their account as he flicks a leg-side delivery just over fine leg's head for four, but Lee finishes the over with a gem - a back-of-a-length delivery just outside off stump which beats the leaden-footed Virender Sehwag.

Aussies All Out For 131 The hosts imploded and one wonders if they wouldn't have been better off sticking with the same XI rather than making three changes and a tweak in the order. They should have at least kept Wade at the top of the order. India's seamers set the contest up well, with the slow bowlers finishing the job. Ashwin bowled a particularly important spell. Stick around for an entertaining chase by Sehwag and sidekicks...

Over 19.4 Rahul 4-1-W-1,W 131-10 - Lee wanted the shot to travel over the covers, but will settle for four past the wicketkeeper, then dragging a single down to long-on. Left to the strike, Hogg tries to turn one around the corner but is beaten. Playing across the line and struck on the front pad as plumb as they come, the left-hander is quickly sent on his way by the umpire's raised finger. Doherty is the last man in for the Aussies, promptly adding his name to the list of multiple run-outs today.

Over 19 Vinay 0-W-W-0-0-4 125-8 - The slowest of slower balls starts Vinay's return over, with Wade having a couple of swats at it but ultimately missing. WICKET! He middles the next one, planking it straight to mid-off and running. Non-striker Lee rejects the call. Turning on his heels, a full dive at the striker's end can't help the Aussie as a remarkable direct-hit from Rohit doing the damage. India are well into Austrlia's tail now, though McKay will consider himself an aspirant all-rounder. WICKET! So much for those aspirations, with the right-hander feeding a sitter to Dhoni off the edge for a first-ball duck. Hogg in now, quickly making sure that there will be no double-wicket maiden by slicing four past point. A big smile shows that the old man is really proud of that shot.

Over 18 Rahul 1-4-W-1-1-0 121-6 - One could be forgiven for thinking it's a genuine edge, but really it's very deliberate from Marsh, who takes four through the vacant slip cordon. WICKET! Those prove to be his last runs of the day, though, with Sharma's flatter delivery beating the right-hander on the cut. Smart, quick work from Dhoni has the batsman stumped by a small margin. Aussies steadily imploding here. These conditions demand a 160-plus total at least. Lee in now.

Over 17 Ashwin 4-0-1-2-1-0 114-5 - Ashwin concedes his first four of the day as Marsh planks a fat full toss through the off-side, later trying his arm at the sweep, running hard for two but having to settle on one as fine-leg fields superbly. Wade wants runs on the sweep too, gathering a couple to deep midwicket. The time to tee of is now. India have plenty of boundary riders accordingly.

Over 16 Jadeja 4-0-1-0-0-1 106-5 - Jadeja pushes through a quicker delivery, which Wade edges wide of short thirdman for four fortunate runs. Marsh, meanwhile, is taking a touch longer to find his feet than he would like. A strike rate of just 57.14 is hardly becoming of an international Twenty20 cricketer...

Over 15 Ashwin 0-1-2-0-0-1 100-5 - The lack of pace really bamboozling the Aussies here. Geared up for the big shots, they're instead having to make do with ones and the odd two along the ground. The 100 eventually arrives, but really they would have wanted that milestone about three overs ago.

Over 14 Jadeja 1-1wd-0-W-1-1-1 96-5 - Dhoni nips potentially more expense from the leg-spinner in the bud by replacing him with the left-arm slow bowler. WICKET! The move works a treat for India, with Hussey dismissed. He tried to work that through the on-side, but fell prey to a delivery that held up off the track a bit. The bowler was at hand for a simple return catch on the back of the leading edge. Hussey, a strong finisher by trade, won't be around for the death overs today. Marsh, Mitchell not Shaun, in now.

Over 13 Ashwin 0-1-0-1-1-1 91-4 - Ashwin won't dare offer the same fallible flight tossed up by his fellow spinner in the previous over, opting instead for flat, fast darts that have Hussey and Wade resigned to mere singles. Bowling to the field set well for him, is the right-armer.

Over 12 Rahul 1-0-6-1-1-2 87-4 - Brave flight from the leg-spinner costs him, with wicketkeeper-batsman Wade sailing six over midwicket - that's the longest boundary here. Huge shot, indeed. Brad Haddin wouldn't have managed half of that. Wade is equally as confident along the ground, closing the over with a fluid drive for a a couple along the ground. Twenty20 cricket isn't all about clubbing via the aerial route, let it be said.

Over 11 Ashwin 1-1-0-1wd-1-1-2 76-4 - Hammered in the previous match, Ashwin wants some quiet economy this time around. Wade and Hussey do their best to thwart that, but really, their slew of mishits were never going to find the fence. Too much slogging, not enough measure and timing.

Over 10 Jadeja 1-0-1-1-1-6 69-4 - Hussey is almost involved in a third run-out, with Wade nearly short of his ground at the non-striker's end. He did enough with a full-stretch dive, ,though and resumes his his stay to watch his team-mate wallop the first six of the match - spanked high and hard down the ground. Aussies going at it at 6.90 to the over at the halfway mark of their knock.

Over 9 Rahul 0-0-W-4-0-1 59-4 - The leg-spinner is into the fray now, almost striking immediately. Playing from deep in his crease, Hussey is struck on the back pad in looking to work the ball across its line. The appeal isn't obliged, though, as the trajectory was probably too high. WICKET! Then, more disaster for the Aussies as Hussey runs another team-mate out. Bailey plugs one behind the wicket, the non-striker calls for the single but is soon hanging his head in selfish shame as a superb return throw has the captain run out at the non-striker's end. Wade at the crease now, determined to show that he should have stayed at the top of the order rather than come in at six. Hussey, meanwhile, is still kicking himself, and has a lot to make up for here.

Over 8 Jadeja 1-2-0-0-1-1 54-3 - Jadeja's left-arm spin into the attack now. The sweep stroke is quickly into play at the arrival of the slow bowler, but really it's not Bailey's strong suit. He'd be much better off looking to play straight. He does his bit in bringing up the team's 50 regardless of the shoddy nature of his shot selection.

Over 7 Kohli 1-0-1-4-1-W 49-3 - Dhoni wants Kohli's part-timers to take the pace off the ball. Good thinking, as the Aussies love the faster stuff. Nothing more than military medimum, the right-armer has the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps and, thus, the batsmen rooted to the crease. Hussey and Finch milk the singles on offer, but really it's boundaries they're after, which Finch soon has back in the fray. Coughing up an ugly full toss, Kohli pays a big price as the opener cranks it to the long-off fence. WICKET! The success brought by the four is soon undone by a run-out, though, with Hussey dropping'n'running for one to backward point. He is safe, but Finch is not, short of his ground at the striker's end by a Country Mile as Jadeja orchestrates a pinpoint return throw. Captain Bailey at the crease now.

Over 6 Vinay 0-1-0-0-0-2 42-2 - Still three slips in place - and rightly so, with Hussey beaten outside the off-stump on occasion. It's very all-or-nothing from the right-hander at the moment, with wild heaves laced with tentative defence. He needs to find a middle ground here, eventually doing so with a couple pushed wide of point.

Over 5 Praveen 1wd-0-2-0-4-4-1 39-2 - Finch on the cut again, and again fruitful as four screams to the deep point fence. Kumar then overcorrects his length, promptly fetching four across mid-off as the right-hander orchestrates the most textbook drive you will witness all year. Content with the back-to-back boundaries, some wise batting then sees him steal the strike with a cheeky single to cover.

Over 4 Vinay 0-0-4-2-1-0 27-2 - Vinay gets a chance to redeem his opening expense. Finch tries and tries again to pinpoint the ball past point, but his placement is lacking. It's third time luck for him, though, with four racing across the off-side. Three slips in place - in a Twenty20 International - wonders never cease...

Over 3 Praveen 1-W-1-0-W-0 20-2 - WICKET! For a second time in a row, India manage to get rid of the ever-dangerous Warner before he really gets going. Adamant that he had enough behind the shot to see the ball carry over the deep square-leg fence, the left-hander's presumption was ultimately flawed. Gambhir pockets the skier and Praveen is delighted to snare a scalp with an admittedly average delivery. Marsh in now, eager to rectify his wretched run in Test cricket with something more promising in the limited-overs form of the game. But he can't. WICKET! It's yet another duck for the very plighted left-hander. Tentative on the defence, he feeds a tough catch to the slips. Sehwag hangs on for a second, but then has the ball bobbling all over the place. Eventually Dhoni manages to cling onto the parry from his team-mate. That was all very touch'n'go. Marsh hoped it would spill to the deck. It didn't. He has to mope off. Bad moving bringing him into the XI ahead of Birt. Shame. Hussey, David not Michael, at the crease now.

Over 2 Vinay 1-4-0-1-1wd-0-4 18-0 - The lone highlight amid an otherwise lame performance from India in the first T20I, Vinay gets the new ball ahead of the spinner this time around. He is off to a weak start, though, with Warner missing out on a rank full toss before Finch carts some shoddy line over midwicket for four. The right-armer doesn't manage to clean up his act soon enough either, with Warner wielding four past short fine-leg off more leg-side rubbish to close the over. One can't see Vinay getting a second over on the trot here.

Over 1 Praveen 0-0-2-1-0-4 7-0 - The right-arm seamer gets the first over of the match and manages to cobble together two dot balls on the trot before Warner pushes something shorter wide of midwicket for a couple. That was the stockstandard left-handed shot from him, no switch-hit yet. In case you were wondering. Later, Finch is off the mark with a streaky boundary, one which screams off the edge to balloon over the slip fielder's head. He'll want much better than that in order to justify his promotion ahead of the impressive Wade.

Game On Fireworks, handshakes and other pleasantries out the way, umpires Bruce Oxenford and Simon Fry and the Indian XI head out to the middle. Finch opens the batting ahead of Wade alongside Warner.

Conditions We shouldn't be in for a repeat of the rain delays that bugged the Sydney clash, with the skies clear enough and the temperature weighing in at 26 degrees Celsius. The pitch should prove faster than that on offer in the first T20I too. Plenty of runs on the cards here, perhaps even a 190-plus total, provided Warner and company really tuck in. The crowd is filling up at a rapid rate - not quite a sellout yet, but surely soon.

Australia XI David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, George Bailey, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.

India XI Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar.

Team News Three tweaks for the Aussies as Clint McKay, Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch get a run ahead of James Faulkner, Travis Birt and Dan Christian. The Indians are unchanged. Still no Irfan Pathan.

Toss Home captain George Bailey has triumphed in the flip of the coin this time around. Australia will bat first, again.

Switch-Hit The hosts won the first T20I at Stadium Australia with ease. Matthew Wade did the bulk of the damage with the bat, but really it was David Warner's theatrics that stole centre stage. Here's hoping for more switch-hitting today, even if it does allegedly contravene the rules of the game. Or does it? If the bowler needs to notify the umpire and the batsman of his change of angle or delivery arm, then surely the batsman has to let all and sundry know that he is shifting stances... Your opinion to: jon.wilson@365.co.za.

Greetings Ahoy, welcome to our over-by-over commentary of the second and final Twenty20 International between the Aussies and Indians at a chockablock Melbourne Cricket Ground, expected to house a 90,000-strong crowd this fine Friday.

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