India vs Australia 2017, 2nd T20I: Hits and Misses

The first chapter of international cricket in the Barsapura Cricket Stadium in Guwahati did not turn out well for the hosts, India, as Australia thrashed them with 8 wickets remaining in the second game of the three-match T20I series.

David Warner won the toss and decided to field first. Newcomer Jason Behrendorff ripped through the Indian top order and the hosts could never truly recover. Virat Kohli and co. put up a weak target of just 118, which was chased down by the kangaroos in less than 16 overs.

Here are the hits and misses from the game:

#1 Hit: Jason Behrendorff

Australia's 9-wicket loss against India in the first match of the series was barely an ideal debut for the man from New South Wales.

He made a mark in the second game though, and did so with some serious in-swing bowling. He scalped the wickets of the famed top four of the Indian batting line-up and reduced the hosts to 27 for 4.

The delivery that dismissed Rohit Sharma swung in beautifully and bamboozled the batsman who succumbed to a plumb LBW shout. Behrendorff also became the first bowler to send Kohli back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers in T20 international cricket.

In his spell of four overs, he not only picked up big wickets but gave away just 21 runs, at less than six runs an over.

#2 Miss: The Indian opening partnership

India's famed opening pair failed to fire

The consistent batting duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan was taken out of contention almost immediately after the first innings started.

While Sharma was dismissed for 8 on the fourth ball of the match, Dhawan fell to an excellent catch by Warner in the fifth over. The left-hander had a nightmarish time in the middle and could score just 2 runs off 6 balls before making his way back to the pavilion.

Between rests, injury lay-offs and sporadic entries of Ajinkya Rahane into the limited-overs formats, Sharma and Dhawan have not been batting together too much. It is time for the pair to spend time on the crease with each other so as to be back to their best soon.

#3 Hit: Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa in action

Adam Zampa has had a tough time in the subcontinent throughout his career. Asian batsmen, who are adept at playing spin, have not been threatened by his leg-spin and have handled him with ease.

This was the case for the 25-year-old on the Indian tour right up to the last game.

He turned the tables in this game though and ensured that he put on a disciplined performance in the middle. He picked up two crucial wickets in the form of Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni.

Considering India had lost their top order within the first lap of the innings, the value of Zampa's spell was monumental. He made sure that India stayed down after the initial blows from Behrendorff and played a perfect second fiddle to the pacer.

#4 Miss: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli had a night to forget

The Indian skipper's T20 credentials are not as impressive as his ODI numbers. However, Kohli is still among the cream of the crop in the shortest format of the game.

Nothing worked for the 29-year-old in this game though. He lost the toss, was dismissed for a duck and could not make inspired changes on the field when Australia were running away with the victory.

It was the first time that Kohli was dismissed for a duck in a T20I. At first, it seemed like he was given out leg-before-wicket. However, after the right-handed batsman reviewed the decision, Ultra-edge made it clear that the ball had caught the edge of the bat. This changed the LBW call. The ball was caught by Behrendorff and thus the Indian captain was dismissed caught and bowled.

#5 Hit: The Head-Henriques show

Head finally found some semblance of form

After the Australian openers were sent back to the pavilion within five overs of the chase, it seemed like India had one foot in the door. A couple more wickets could've set the tone for the hosts to snatch an unlikely victory.

However, Travis Head and Moises Henriques ensured that there were no more surprises in store throughout the innings. They batted with skill and confidence to ease Australia to victory in just 15.3 overs.

Head has featured in the "misses" category of this series consistently through the tour, but made a stomping switch to the "hits" category after this game. He looked extremely self-assured through the innings and partnered beautifully with Henriques to stitch a 119-run stand.

Henriques was promoted to Number 3 by Warner and the Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketer did not disappoint his skipper. He took the attack to the opposition, ripped through their spin-bowling attack and scored 62 runs in just 46 deliveries.

#6 Miss: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav was taken to the cleaners

Kuldeep Yadav was the Man of the Match in the first game of the series, but is a part of the misses in the very next game. That's the unpredictability associated with international cricket.

The chinaman bowler couldn't weave his magic today and was taken apart by the Australian batsmen. Henriques, in particular, slammed the wrist-spinner all over the park.

Yadav bowled four overs in the match and gave away 46 runs at 11.8 runs per over. It was the first time the youngster has tasted failure in international cricket. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from this setback in the last game of the series and whether he manages to bring his best to the table.