Melbourne: India revived their Australian tour with a convincing eight-wicket win over the home side in the second Twenty20 international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first and were all out for 131 runs off 19.4. The tourists dazzled in the field with four run outs to scramble Australian innings. In reply Indians reached the target at 135 for two with two balls to spare before 62,275 fans.
It was the Indians' first victory on their tour of Australia after losing the opening T20 game by 31 runs in Sydney on Wednesday and receiving a 4-0 thrashing in the Test series.
Australia were scuttled by a India's brilliant fielding, the pick of which came from man-of-the-match Ravindra Jadeja who took two run outs.
It was a shambolic Australian performance with the bat and in the field as the youthful Indian side finally revealed the hunger missing for so much of the lopsided Test series.
Gautam Gambhir topscored with an unbeaten 56 off 60 balls with skipper MS Dhoni not out 21 off 18 balls after promoting himself to number four in the batting order.
The Indians were always in control of the run chase, but tensions mounted in the final over as the Australians ringed the field around Gambhir before he pierced the circle for the winning runs off Clint McKay with two balls to spare.
India only lost the wickets of Virender Sehwag for 23 off 16 balls and Virat Kohli 31 off 24.
The impressive victory was just the momentum switch that India needed ahead of Sunday's opening match in the tri one-day series against Australia at the MCG.
Opener Aaron Finch, one of three changes from Australia's win in the opening T20 game, topscored with 36 off 23 balls and first match topscorer Matthew Wade chipped in with 32 off 29 balls.
But India had the home side under pressure from the third over when they had the adventurous David Warner dismissed for eight to a great catch in the deep by a back-pedalling Gambhir off Praveen Kumar.
Test flop Shaun Marsh was out for a two-ball duck and Finch was run out by an outstanding piece of athletic fielding by Jadeja after David Hussey hit the ball straight to him at backward point and scampered for a single.
Hussey also played a role in a second run out as Jadeja found skipper George Bailey (3) well out of his ground at the bowler's end, and was himself next to go, caught and bowled by Jadeja for 24 off 29 balls.
Smart glovework by Dhoni had Mitchell Marsh stumped for 13 off spinner Rahul Sharma and Wade was run out by a direct throw from Rohit Sharma in the 19th over.
The Australians collapsed losing their final three wickets in seven balls.
Clint McKay was caught by Dhoni off Vinay Kumar for a first-ball duck, veteran Brad Hogg was leg before wicket to Rahul Sharma for four and Xavier Doherty was run out by Suresh Raina attempting a suicidal second run to end Australia's innings with two balls left.
Kumar took two for 21 off three overs and Sharma claimed two for 29 off 3.4 overs
Melbourne: The statistical highlights from the second T20 international between India and Australia at Melbourne.
# India's eight-wicket magnificent victory is their first in three games against Australia in Australia in T20Is.
# India had lost the first two T20Is in Australia - by 9 wickets at MCG on February 1, 2008 and by 31 runs at Stadium Australia, Sydney on February 1, 2012.
# India's aforesaid win is their biggest over Australia, eclipsing the seven-wicket victory at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on October 20, 2007.
# Both teams - India and Australia - have won three games each against each other in T20Is.
# Australia (131) have recorded their lowest total against India in T20Is, eclipsing the 166 for five at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on October 20, 2007.
# Australia's aforesaid total is their fourth lowest total in T20Is - the three lowest being 79 against England at Southampton on June 13, 2005; 108 against Pakistan at Dubai (DSC) on May 7, 2009 and 127 against Pakistan at MCG on February 5, 2010.
# David Hussey has equalled Michael Clarke's tally of 34 appearances for Australia in T20Is. Both share an Australian record for most appearances in T20Is. David Warner (31) has the next best tally for Australia.
# Shaun Marsh has recorded his second duck in Twenty20 Internationals - his first was against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on August 8, 2011.
# Marsh is averaging 13.50 in Twenty20 Internationals - 108 in eight matches with 29 against West Indies (on ODI debut) at Bridgetown on June 20, 2008 as his hghest score.
# In his last eight international innings, Marsh has recorded five ducks - one against South Africa and four against India.
# Of Marsh's last eight international innings, seven are single-digit innings - the highest being 11 against India at Perth in January this year.
# David Warner is the top run-scorer for Australia against India in T20Is - 105 at an average of 35.00 in three games.
# Matthew Wade (104 at an average of 52.00) is the only batsman to manage 100 runs in a bilateral series between India and Australia in T20Is.
# Praveen Kumar (2/21) has produced his best figures against a Test-playing nation in T20Is - his second best overall, next only to the 2 for 14 against Afghanistan at Gros Islet on May 1, 2010.
# Aaron Finch (36) has been dismissed for the first time in T20Is - his first two scores being 15 not out at Adelaide and 53 not out at MCG in January 2011 - both against England.
# Finch is averaging 104.00 in T20Is - 104 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 148.57. He is the only batsman to aggregate 100 or more besides averaging 100-plus in T20Is.
# Four run-outs have been recorded in Australia's total of 131 - their first instance in Twenty20 Internationals. Seven nations have registered this unwanted feat once each in T20Is - England, Australia, Afghanistan, Scotland, Ireland, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Indian fielders had previously accomplished the feat against New Zealand (190) at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on September 16, 2007. Â
#Â Matthew Wade has managed 104 runs at an average of 52.00 in two T20Is. He is the first Australian wicketkeeper to manage 100 runs in a bilteral series in T20Is. Only two other wicketkeepers have accomplished the feat in a bilateral series - Brendon McCullum (145 at 145.00 in two games against Zimbabwe in 2011-12 and 125 without being dismissed in two matches against India in 2008-09) and Kumar Sangakkara (137 in two games at 68.50 against India in 2009-10)
# Virender Sehwag (23) has registered his highest innings against Australia in T20Is, surpassing the 9 runs at Kingsmead, Durban on September 22, 2007.
# The 43-run partnership between Sehwag and Gambhir is their highest for the first wicket in 14 international innings outside the sub-continent, eclipsing the 27 against South Africa at Cape Town in December 2011.
# Gautam Gambhir (56 not out) has extended his record for most fifties (7) for India in T20Is. He bcame the first Indian batsman to register a fifty (56 not out) against Australia in Australia in T20Is apart from being the only Indian to record two fifties against Australia. He had posted 63 at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on October 20, 2007.
# Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were involved in a stand of 54 for the second wicket - India's highest in Australia in T20Is - the second highest overall in Australia, next only to the 59 (unbroken) between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin for the seventh wicket against Australia at Sydney on February 1, 2012.
# Rahul Sharma (2/29) has produced his best bowling performance in Twenty20 Internationals.
# Ravindra Jadeja has received his first Man of the Match award for his fielding abilities in T20Is.