India vs Australia 2019: Important takeaways from the 2nd T20I

The second T20I match in Australia's tour of India 2019 ended with the Aussies besting the Men in Blue. Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Team India managed to score 190/4 in 20.0 overs. Australia successfully chased the target, getting to 194/3 in 19.4 overs, riding on the back of a Glenn Maxwell century. With this match, the visitors get the T20I series victory.

The Aussies had the last laugh in the T20I series, but the ODI series is coming up. It would be competitive. Here are a few key takeaways from the second T20I match.

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#1 A century partnership between the rival IPL captains

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016: India v Australia

The first match of IPL 2019 will be the sizzling hot South Indian derby. Royal Challengers Bangalore takes on Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. Virat Kohli will captain RCB and MS Dhoni will lead CSK as usual. These two fierce IPL rivals showed some fireworks against their common opponent at the moment, the Aussies as they forged a century stand.

Kohli contributed 57 runs and Dhoni chipped in with 40 runs in the partnership. The Chinnaswamy Stadium saw vintage Dhoni as he smashed 40 runs from 23 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes. The former Indian captain had a strike rate of 173.91 in the match.

Dhoni also created history during the match by becoming the first Indian to reach 350 international sixes. If Dhoni decides to retire in World Cup 2019 then this would be his last T20I match. In that case, 'captain cool' made a top-class exit.

Apart from the partnership, Kohli was at home in the Chinnaswamy Stadium, amassing 72* runs from 38 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes. The skipper's strike rate reached a whopping 189.47. Gayle-storm departed RCB a while ago, but Virat storm is all set to strike again.

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#2 Maxi goes all the way

Maxwell played a crucial knock against India in the 2nd T20I

The Player of the Match was given to Glenn Maxwell for his outstanding batting in the run-chase. The Player of the Series award in the two-match series was also bagged by the Australian all-rounder. This short T20I series can be plainly called the 'Maxwell show'.

There were good performances from some players but still, Maxwell was the best player going around in the series. He scored 113 runs from 55 balls with a strike rate of 205.45 in the second T20I. He scored a total of 169 runs in the two matches.

Maxwell became the second T20I century scorer against India in India after Colin Munro, who scored a hundred at Rajkot in 2017. If Maxwell replicates the same level of batting in the ODI series, then the Aussies are likely to dominate India.

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#3 Time to introspect

Virat Kohli

What went wrong with India? The question is not a simple one to answer. Team India looked so strong against Australia and New Zealand in overseas conditions. Now at home, they are struggling against the same Aussies who still do not possess their best players in David Warner and Steve Smith.

Whatever the reason for India's fall might be, the team will try to regroup and win the ODI series. The series marks the first home series loss for Virat Kohli as a captain across formats. This could be a wake-up call for his side.

An ODI series loss before the World Cup would do a lot of psychological damage to the team. It can drain their confidence. Kohli and co. will try their best to stage a solid comeback.

What do you think about the T20I series loss? Will India show their real strength in the ODI series? Let us know in your comments below