K L Rahul

It was revealed earlier on Sunday that Kings captain and star batsman Rahul faces surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, and he was in hospital while this match played out at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

In his absence, stand-in skipper Mayank Agarwal made a dominant 99 not out in a total of 166-6, helming the Kings innings and cutting loose when he saw fit in a terrific 58-ball knock that contained four sixes and eight fours.

Shikhar Dhawan produced the key innings for the Capitals in response, making an unbeaten 69 and finding the sort of support that Agarwal lacked, helping Delhi to 167-3, winning with 14 balls to spare.

Agarwal had required five from the final ball of the Kings innings to post what would have been just the second IPL century of his career, but he could only crunch a four down the ground rather than clear the ropes.

Kagiso Rabada had earlier taken two wickets in his first two overs, the second coming when he bowled Kings veteran Chris Gayle with a full toss immediately after being cracked for six by the West Indies batsman.

That was the first of three sixes off Rabada's bowling, but the South African paceman also removed Prabhsimran Singh and Chris Jordan while taking 3-36 in his four-over allocation.

Dawid Malan made 26 but it was ostensibly a one-man show as Agarwal contended with a revolving cast of batting partners.

Delhi had more about them, with Prithvi Shaw making 39 in a 63-run first-wicket stand alongside Dhawan, before Steve Smith added 25.

Shimron Hetmyer launched Riley Meredith for two consecutive sixes followed by a cover drive for four in the 18th over, leaving Delhi just two short of their victory target.

Neither Hetmyer nor Dhawan had the privilege of finishing the job, however, with a pair of wides from Meredith carrying the Capitals over the line.

Agarwal deserved better

Not only did he take over as captain, Agarwal also led by proud example, just as Rahul as so often done. His innings was the standout performance of this match, but where he rose to the occasion, others in the Kings ranks wilted. Gayle, with 13, was the team's third highest scorer, and it is almost impossible to win matches that way.

Getting all Het up

Hetmyer's late care-free cameo of 16 from four deliveries would likely not have happened without his team-mates laying solid foundations. They did so in the face of largely unthreatening bowling from Punjab, who sit sixth with three wins from eight games, amid doubts over whether their leader will be back in action this season.

Just 48 hours after completing the third and final one-dayer, the two nations must quickly switch their focus to the shortest format. 

Manuka Oval in Canberra stages the opening T20 on Friday before the teams complete the series in Sydney, which hosted the first two ODI fixtures – both won by the home team.

However, Australia lost the finale when without the services of Warner, who is dealing with a groin injury that leaves him battling to be fit for the upcoming Tests against the same opponents.

Captain Aaron Finch admits it is never easy to be without a player of Warner's abilities, albeit the opening batsman's absence offers an opportunity for others with next year's T20 World Cup looming large on the horizon.

"It would be great to have him available, no doubt. But these things happen. Injuries happen. He's an all-time great in one-day cricket, in T20 cricket," Finch said after the third ODI. 

"I don't think there's many better players to have played the game, so any team that he is not a part of is going to be slightly weaker, I think. But we have got guys who can step up and really contribute heavily in that role as well." 

India will be hosting next year's global tournament after the 2020 edition, due to take place on Australian soil, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Virat Kohli leads the tourists but will not be present for the entire Test series that follows; India's skipper is to return home after the opening game to be present at the birth of his first child. 

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS 

It is not just Warner missing for Australia; pace bowler and vice-captain Pat Cummins is also set to be absent, while Mitchell Marsh is ruled out. 

Marcus Stoinis, meanwhile, is nursing a side strain and Mitchell Starc was not risked in the third and final one-dayer due to a back issue. 

Andrew Tye had already replaced Kane Richardson in the squad while Cameron Green – fresh from making his international debut on Wednesday – could be given further chances for the home side, who will be wearing Indigenous shirts for all three games.

Glenn Maxwell is available too – and is in excellent form with the bat. He posted scores of 45 or more in each of his three knocks in the 50-over games.

RAHUL RIGHT IN FORM

India have a decision to make at the top of the order with Rohit Sharma not available. 

KL Rahul could be used there after an outstanding Indian Premier League season with King's XI Punjab, as he finished the 2020 tournament as the competition's leading run-scorer.

The right-hander has also amassed more runs in T20 international cricket since 2019 than any other batsman from a Test-playing nation, managing 452 at a stunning average of 75.3.

Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, is in contention to make his 50th T20 appearance for India, a milestone only seven other players have achieved for the country.

KEY OPTA FACTS

- Australia can record three multi-game bilateral T20 series victories on the bounce at home for the first time, having defeated Sri Lanka and Pakistan on home soil in 2019.
- India have registered five victories in their past six T20 outings in Australia (L1); all eight fixtures between these sides in the country have been won after losing the toss.
- Australia have only been involved in one previous men's T20 fixture at Manuka Oval, beating Pakistan by a margin of seven wickets with nine balls remaining in November 2019.
- Kohli has scored more runs in men's T20 games between these sides than anyone else (584); that is the most ever registered against a single opponent in the history of the format.

Finch's team will look to defend their world title on home soil in October and November, though their immediate focus is on a three-match T20I series with India.

The series starts in Mohali on Tuesday, with India aiming to snap a three-match home losing streak in the format to Australia.

Finch, meanwhile, comes into the series on the back of playing his 146th and final ODI for Australia, with the 35-year-old having confirmed his retirement from the 50-over game ahead of his side's final match against New Zealand earlier this month.

Since the beginning of 2018, no player has top scored for Australia in men's T20Is more often than Finch who has led the team's scoresheet on 13 occasions during this span. However, he has struggled for form in ODIs, only getting into double figures once from his last eight matches.

Finch has been better in T20Is, averaging 27.4 in his nine matches in 2022, though the last of those came in June.

Asked in a press conference if he would be changing his approach at the crease, Finch said: "I'll be looking to be more aggressive and take a few more risks upfront, but obviously balance that out with the normal process.

"You just have to go in really clear minded. I think the difference between T20s and ODIs is you're expected but you’re also prepared to take a decent amount of risk earlier in your innings.

"It's about being clear minded, working with what I know has worked well in the past and going back to basics in that regard of anything technical or set-up related."

Finch will not have a full-strength team to call on against India, with Mitchell Marsh, David Warner and Marcus Stoinis all left out, while Mitchell Starc is struggling with a minor injury.

As such, Finch is open to experimenting ahead of the tournament, with Steve Smith to bat at three and Tim David set for a debut.

"Every decision that we make has one eye towards the World Cup... so I think we'll be mindful of not being too narrow-minded," Finch said.

"Everything we're doing in the T20 space ties back into the World Cup and for us it's about making sure once we get there, we'll have plenty of different combinations for teams we want to play, because the last thing you want to do is have an injury derail your whole campaign because you're pigeon-holed into playing one style of cricket or one structure of team.

"There'll be a little bit of mixing and matching but with one eye towards the World Cup to make sure we're still as rounded as we can be as a squad."

Hazlewood to lead in-form Australia attack

With Starc injured, the onus will be on Josh Hazlewood to deliver for the tourists with the ball. The seamer has 46 wickets in T20Is, and if he gets four in Tuesday's game (his 31st T20I) to reach the 50 mark, will become the fourth fastest player to reach the milestone for Australia.

Australia's seam bowlers have registered a bowling strike rate of 15 in T20Is in 2022, the best such rate among all full-member sides.

Rahul, Kumar eyeing landmarks

KL Rahul was the subject of Rohit Sharma's press conference on Sunday, with the India captain insisting the opener would keep his place at the top of the order, though acknowledging Virat Kohli is an option for the role.

Rahul, who struck 62 against Afghanistan earlier this month, has defended his position, too, saying: "I am just working towards how I can better myself as an opening batter, and see how I can have the most impact for my team whenever I go out to play in the middle."

The 30-year-old is just 37 runs away from reaching 2,000 in T20Is, with only Rohit and Kohli having previously hit the milestone for India. Meanwhile, team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar (84) needs two more wickets to become the outright fifth-highest wicket-taker among seam bowlers in T20Is.

Trailing 2-0 in the series, and with captain Pat Cummins returning home for personal reasons, Australia welcomed back Mitchell Starc from a finger injury as the only full-time pacer bowler in the line-up.

Also coming into the visiting side is all-rounder Cameron Green, with the injured David Warner joining Cummins as the outs, leaving Travis Head and Usman Khawaja to open the batting. Matt Renshaw had replaced Warner mid-game in the second Test as a concussion sub.

Retaining their places are the spinning trio of Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann, while the addition of Green for Warner gives the Australians another weapon in their pace attack.

For India, K.L. Rahul was dropped and Mohammed Shami was rested, with opening batsman Shubman Gill and fast bowler Umesh Yadav taking their place. India won the toss and elected to bat.

Rahul struck a classy 112 from 113 balls as India posted 296-7 at Mount Maunganui after the fit-again Kane Williamson won the toss and put the tourists in, Hamish Bennett taking 4-64. 

That was not enough for Virat Kohli's side, who whitewashed the Black Caps in the Twenty20 series, to claim a consolation victory as the Cricket World Cup runners-up reached their target with 17 balls to spare.

Henry Nicholls (80) Martin Guptill (66 off 46) put on 106 for the first wicket and Colin de Grandhomme blasted 58 from 28 deliveries to consign India to another defeat.

Kyle Jamieson cleaned up Mayank Agarwal in the second over and held to a catch at third man to claim the big scalp of Kohli for only nine off the bowling of Bennett.

Prithvi Shaw (40) looked well set before he was run out, but Iyer and Rahul put India on their way to setting a challenging target with a fourth-wicket stand of 100.

Iyer brought up his 50 off 52 balls before falling to a short ball from Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner should have run both Rahul and Manish Pandey (42) out.

Rahul, looking very much at home at number five as wicketkeeper-batsman, accelerated after reaching his half-century, taking just 38 balls to move from 50 to three figures before eventually falling to Bennett after Jamieson dropped him off the previous delivery and the ball crossed the rope for six.

Guptill and Nicholls made a great start to the run chase, the former crunching Jasprit Bumrah over midwicket for six and clattering the expensive Shardul Thakur over the ropes for his half-century.

Nicholls continued to tick along nicely but Guptill was bowled by a beauty from Yuzvendra Chahal, the pick of the bowlers with 3-47, after he ought to have been run out by Rahul.

Spinners Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja drew false shots from Williamson (22) and Ross Taylor (12) respectively before Nicholls was caught behind trying to cut Thakur, having struck nine boundaries in an assured knock.

It looked to be game on when Neesham was removed by the impressive Chahal, with the Black Caps needing 77 to win off 63 balls.

De Grandhomme and Tom Latham (32 not out) stepped up to seal the clean sweep, the all-rounder smashing three sixes and finding the rope six times in a swashbuckling outing to end the series in style. 

An astonishing contest came down to the last ball, and just as it looked as though KKR would reach the improbable target of 211, two wickets from the final two balls from Marcus Stoinis (3-23) sealed a dramatic two-run win for LSG.

De Kock and KL Rahul became only the fourth opening pair to bat first and go through an Indian Premier League innings without dismissal as they put on 210-0 from their 20 overs, the highest unbeaten opening partnership in IPL history.

The South African's score of 140 from 70 balls was the third-highest in IPL history, after Chris Gayle's 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in 2013, and Brendon McCullum's 158 not out for KKR against RCB in 2008.

However, Rinku Singh's 40 from 14 balls looked to have put KKR on the verge of victory, needing just three from the final two deliveries, only for Rinku and then Umesh Yadav to both fall to Stoinis.

Rahul was steady in his 68 from 51 balls, but the fireworks came from De Kock, particularly near the end of the innings, hitting four sixes in the 19th over off the bowling of Tim Southee (0-57).

The Knight Riders' response could not have got off to a more contrasting start, with Venkatesh Iyer (0) and Abhijeet Tomar (4) both out early on to Mohsin Khan.

Nitish Rana's 44 from 22 balls showed some fight, before Shreyas Iyer (50 from 29) and Sam Billings (36 from 24) put their team in a position where victory actually looked possible, but the former spooned a Stoinis delivery into the air and into the waiting hands of Deepak Hooda just after reaching his half-century.

Rinku and Sunil Narine (21 not out) had one last go at reviving hope for KKR and very nearly managed it, only for Stoinis to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with the last two deliveries to secure a vital win for the Super Giants, sealing their place in the playoffs, while KKR miss out.

De Kock wows the crowd

The fans could not believe what they were seeing as De Kock fired the ball to all sides of the ground with almost every shot imaginable.

The 29-year-old hit 20 boundaries in all (10 sixes and 10 fours) and, having only scored 362 runs from his previous 13 innings in the IPL this season, nudged himself over 500 and into third-place behind Jos Buttler (627) and Rahul (527) on the leaderboard for most runs.

So near yet so far for Rinku

When Rinku arrived at the crease his team still needed 69 runs from 26 balls. When he went back to the pavilion having hit a Stoinis delivery to Evin Lewis for a tremendous catch, his team were only three from victory.

It wasn't to be, but his two fours and four sixes from just 15 balls along with Narine's 21 from seven gave their team hope when there had previously been very little.

Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal helped Punjab post 195-4 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after being put into bat by Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant.

However, Delhi – who came into the contest having alternated between defeat and victory across their previous seven IPL games – bounced back from a three-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals last time out in stunning fashion.

Dhawan dominated the Kings attack in a well-paced chase, following up his 85 in his side's opener against Chennai Super Kings with a marvellous knock that included 13 fours and two sixes.

Opening partner Prithvi Shaw contributed 32 at the top of the Capitals' order while Marcus Stoinis finished the job in a hurry, the all-rounder making 27 not out from just 13 balls.

Punjab's total had been built on the solid foundation provided by openers Rahul and Agarwal as they shared a 122-run stand, the latter the more aggressive of the pair as his score of 69 came from 36 deliveries.

West Indian duo Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made just 11 and nine respectively as the innings briefly stuttered, but late cameos from Deepak Hooda – who hit two sixes to make 22 not out from 13 deliveries – and Shahrukh Khan (15 off five balls) lifted the Kings.

Delhi had lost five of the past seven meetings between the franchises but Dhawan made sure they prevailed this time, in the process becoming the competition's leading run-scorer in 2021.

Kings run into a spot of trouble

Rahul hit seven fours and two sixes while at the crease, but his 61 runs came from 51 deliveries at a strike-rate of 119.60.

Punjab Kings would have had designs on making in excess of 200 following the start they were given by their openers, but an inability to get after Ravichandran Ashwin – his four overs of spin went for just 28 runs – saw them come up just short.

Capitals gain from in-form opener

Dhawan received the orange cap after the game as he moved above Glenn Maxwell of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the run-scoring table. The left-hander is scoring at 163.15 runs per 100 deliveries in the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 tournament, despite having only hit four sixes.

Bowled within sight of a century as he attempted to sweep Australian seamer Jhye Richardson, Dhawan then watched on as Stoinis rushed his team home with 10 balls to spare.

An extraordinary Indian Premier League match saw both sides post 176-6, with KL Rahul making a terrific 77 for Kings XI, before the teams then managed just five runs each in the first series of extra overs.

Chris Jordan gave away 11 to Mumbai as the second round of Super Overs began, helped by a magnificent piece of boundary fielding from Agarwal who denied Pollard a six from the final ball.

Agarwal caught the ball while in mid-air over the ropes and threw it back into play, athleticism that saved four runs, and after Gayle blasted Trent Boult for six at the start of KXIP's second extra over, it was Agarwal who finished the match with back-to-back boundaries.

Jasprit Bumrah (3-24) had earlier ended Rahul's innings with a scorching delivery at a pivotal point in KXIP's run chase, and Jordan was run out from the final ball of their 20 overs, chasing a second run for victory.

Bumrah limited Kings XI to just 5-2 in six balls of the first Super Over, before Mohammed Shami incredibly kept Mumbai to 5-1 thanks to a set of super yorkers.

After just two wins from their previous eight games this season, the Mohali-based Kings XI had looked poised for more disappointment as momentum repeatedly appeared to swing to their second-placed opponents, only for Gayle and Agarwal to produce the late heroics.

Quinton de Kock made a team-high 53 in Mumbai's innings, which benefited from an explosive seventh-wicket partnership of 57 between Kieron Pollard and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who only came together midway through the 17th over.

Jordan's turning circle

Had Jordan turned and run straight back on a batsman's usual path, he would surely have made his ground for the second run in that 20th over. Instead he swung around in a wide curve at the non-striker's end and ended up charging back bizarrely wide, seemingly taking several unnecessary strides that cost him his wicket. Somehow, he finished on the winning side nonetheless.

Living on the edge

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma could have found himself facing questions if his early call in KXIP's innings proved pivotal. Boult drew a thin edge from opener Agarwal in the first over that was not spotted by the umpire, and there was no obvious shout from De Kock who gathered the ball safely behind the stumps. Boult was convinced and replays confirmed what he had seen, but Sharma declined the bowler's call for a review. Agarwal perished for 11, presumably sparing Sharma a post-game inquisition.

Kings XI have found wins hard to come by in 2020 but have now triumphed in both games with Bangalore, albeit only after surviving a late wobble on Thursday. 

Gayle made 53 from 45 balls but was run out from the penultimate delivery with the scores level. That left Nicholas Pooran to come out and face one ball, which he proceeded to launch down the ground for six. 

The eight-wicket victory gives Kings XI renewed hope for the season, though they remain bottom of the table. 

Rahul – who made 132 not out in the previous meeting of the two franchises – finished up unbeaten on 61, in the process extending his lead at the top of the run-scoring table. 

Opening partner Mayank Agarwal weighed in with 45 as Bangalore's total of 171-6 was not quite enough, despite the unexpected final-over drama. 

Virat Kohli had top-scored with 48 but the Royal Challengers struggled to pick up the run-rate, making the decision to leave AB de Villiers down at six in the order even more surprising. 

The South African made just two but compatriot Chris Morris was far more successful in the closing stages, an eight-ball cameo seeing him make 25 not out. 

DE VILLIERS MADE TO WAIT 

De Villiers was at his explosive best against Kolkata Knight Riders last time out, smashing an unbeaten 73 from 33 balls. 

Despite that explosive display of hitting, Bangalore sent both Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube in ahead of him, before he eventually came out with four overs to go.

THE UNIVERSE BOSS IS BACK!

Gayle's involvement in the tournament was delayed by food poisoning, leading to a spell in hospital. He batted in the unfamiliar position of three for Kings XI, coming in after the opening duo had put on 78. 

After a cautious start, the left-hander cut loose with a solitary four and five sixes. Even his demise added a little drama, but Pooran finished the job in style with a maximum off Yuzvendra Chahal. 

Hardik will lead India when they begin their tour of New Zealand with the first of three T20Is in Wellington on November 18 – just five days after the T20 World Cup in Australia ends.

One week later, they begin a three-match one-day series at Eden Park in Auckland, in which Dhawan – who led India on a tour of the West Indies earlier this year – will take the captaincy.

Rohit, Kohli and Rahul will all miss the trip to New Zealand, but as many as eight other players currently in Australia for the World Cup will be in attendance.

Hardik, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh have all been selected for the T20I series, with Pant named vice-captain for the entire tour.

There was no place in either squad for Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja, however, after the duo were forced to miss the World Cup through injury.

The 29-year-old opener was admitted to hospital on Saturday after suffering from discomfort in his abdomen.

No timeframe has been placed on his recovery but he will be absent from Punjab Kings' Indian Premier League fixture against Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

A statement from Punjab Kings said: "KL Rahul complained of severe abdomen pain and, after not responding to medication, he was taken for further tests which revealed that he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.

"It will be resolved surgically and for safety measures he has been transferred to the hospital."

Rahul is the top runscorer in the 2021 IPL with 331 runs in seven matches at an average of 66.20 and a strike rate of 136.21.

He has the best all-time batting average in IPL history with 2,978 runs in 88 matches at 46.53 and a strike rate of 135.85.

The right-hand batsman has played 36 Tests, 38 ODIs and 49 T20 internationals for India.

After making a valuable 48 when India won the first game in the three-match series by five wickets on Wednesday, Rohit – who took over from Virat Kohli as T20 captain for this series and seems set to be handed the role on a full-time basis – added a rapid 55 on this occasion as he and KL Rahul produced a century opening partnership.

Chasing New Zealand's 153-6, Rahul plundered 65 from 49 balls and Rohit's runs came from just 36 deliveries, before India withstood a slight stumble to get over the line with 16 balls to spare.

Rishabh Pant finished it off with two sixes at the start of the 18th over, with India getting the job done emphatically at JSCA International Stadium Complex.

New Zealand captain Tim Southee's inspired bowling had accounted for both openers and Suryakumar Yadav, but by that point India were almost home and hosed. Pant and Venkatesh Iyer both finished on 12 not out.

The visitors paid the price for being unable to build on a strong platform of their own, having been 79-1 in the ninth over. Martin Guptill thrashed 31 from 15 balls, perishing to a top edge off Deepak Chahar after striking the same bowler for six from the previous delivery.

Harshal Patel had a strong debut for India and his 2-25 included the wicket of middle-order dangerman Glenn Phillips, who hit three sixes, taking his total to 97 in T20 matches at all levels in 2021, making 34 in 21 balls.

The three-match series concludes in Kolkata on Sunday, with India eyeing a clean sweep.

Rohit and Rahul take game away from Kiwis

Trent Boult dropped Rohit on 29 after he sliced into the on side. A wicket at that point, in the 10th over, might have made a difference, but India's opening pair went on to put on 117 and such a foundation meant the outcome became a foregone conclusion. It means the India openers have equalled the most century partnerships in T20I matches, joining Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on five.

Super Southee efforts in vain

Southee's salvo came too late to majorly affect the outcome, but his bowling was terrific and figures of 3-16 from four overs matched his fifth-best T20I performance, in what was his 92nd appearance in the short format for the Black Caps.

Rahul, vice-captain in the absence of the injured Rohit Sharma, gave a strong indication that the tourists will persist with playing five bowlers in the Boxing Day Test behind closed doors in Centurion.

He said: "I think more teams have started playing [five bowlers], because, you know, every team wants to pick up 20 wickets, and that's the only way you can win a Test match.

"We've definitely used that tactic, and it's helped us in every Test match that we've played away from India. I think the workload also becomes slightly easier to manage with five bowlers, and when you have that kind of quality, you might as well use it."

No play was possible on day two due to rain, but the Proteas made up for lost time by bowling the tourists out for 327 in a dramatic morning session.

The brilliant Lungi Ngidi took 6-71 as India lost seven wickets for 49 runs, KL Rahul falling for 123 and Ajinkya Rahane 48 after they had resumed on 272 in Centurion.

Kagiso Rabada provided great support for his fellow paceman, claiming 3-72, but India quickly shifted the momentum when South Africa started their reply.

Shami was outstanding, helping himself to 5-44 as the Proteas were bowled out for 197 in 62.3 overs, Temba Bavuma top scoring with 52, Quinton de Kock making 34 and Rabada 25.

Jasprit Bumrah (2-16) spent a long spell of the field with a sprained right ankle, but was able to return and end the South Africa innings, while Shardul Thakur chipped in with 2-51.

India closed on 16-1, leading by 146 runs, after Mayank Agarwal edged debutant Marco Jansen behind but Virat Kohli's side are well poised to take a 1-0 lead following a day that saw a record number of wickets fall in a Test at this venue.

Ngidi and Rabada tear through tourists

Rabada started the India collapse when he had Rahul caught behind in the fourth over of the day and De Kock took another catch to give Ngidi his fourth wicket, sending Rahane on his way three overs later.

Ngidi had his third five-wicket Test haul as Rishabh Pant could only fend a hostile short ball to Rassie van der Dussen short leg, with Rabada seeing the back of Ravichandran Ashwin and Thakur.

India were all out in a flash when Bumrah became Jansen's first Test victim after the excellent Ngidi drew an edge from Shami and De Kock snaffled a fourth catch. 

Landmark for Shami as Proteas fold

Bumrah struck in the first over of the Proteas' reply, captain Dean Elgar edging behind, before Shami took centre stage.

Keegan Petersen chopped on to the third ball after lunch from Shami, who then produced a peach of a delivery to clean up Aiden Markram.

Shami's impeccable line and length, combined with a touch of movement of the seam, accounted for Bavuma caught behind just after he reached his half-century. Pant took another two catches for the 31-year-old, who became only the fifth Indian paceman to take 200 Test scalps.

The tourists had embarrassed India in the first match, cruising to a 10-wicket win with unbeaten centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch.

India posted a more challenging total of 340-6 on Friday, featuring 96 from Shikhar Dhawan, 80 from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli's 78, to give Australia a tricky chase and they fell short on 304 all out to set up a series decider in Bengaluru on Sunday.

At 220-3 with more than 12 overs remaining, Australia were firmly in the hunt, but India's bowlers got on top and the tourists did not recover from losing Steve Smith, whose 98 was the fulcrum of their innings.

Smith played on to give Kuldeep Yadav his second victim in the 38th over after dismissing Alex Carey to bring up 100 ODI career wickets.

Warner had earlier been dismissed for just 15, flicking at a length ball from Mohammed Shami (3-77) outside off stump and caught spectacularly above his head by Manish Pandey at cover.

Finch fell for 33 and Marnus Labuschagne made 46 in his first ODI knock, but Australia's hopes of a late flurry were savaged by Shami yorking Ashton Turner and Pat Cummins with the first two deliveries of the 44th over before Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah mopped up the tail.

Dhawan and Rohit Sharma had earlier put on a run-a-ball 81 for India's first wicket, before the latter fell for 42, pegged lbw by leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

Dhawan and Kohli kept the runs flowing, with their stand of 103 eventually broken when Dhawan, four short of an 18th ODI century and looking to reach three figures with one blow, was caught at fine leg by Mitchell Starc off Kane Richardson.

India had collapsed from 134 for one to 255 all out in Mumbai, but this time it would be a different story.

The classy Kohli scored at just over a run a ball before becoming the second of three victims for Zampa (3-50), before Rahul injected late pace into the scoring by plundering his 80 from 52 balls, clearing the ropes three times before being run out in the final over.

A blow for India on an otherwise positive day came with Dhawan taking a blow to the ribs when batting that prevented him from fielding.

The tourists have been unable to show a positive response to their 2-1 Test series defeat at the hands of the Proteas, suffering back-to-back defeats in the 50-over format.

India posted 287-6 after Rahul won the toss on a searing hot Friday in Paarl, Rishabh Pant top scoring with a swashbuckling 85 off 71 balls and the captain making 55 at the top of the order.

South Africa chased down their target with 11 balls to spare, winning by seven wickets after Janneman Malan (91) and Quinton de Kock (78) laid the foundations with an opening stand of 132.

Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen were both unbeaten on 37, while Bavuma made 35 as the Proteas wrapped up a fourth ODI series win out of five against India, 

Rahul, skippering the side in the absence of the injured Rohit Sharma, stressed that India can use the defeats as part of their development.

He said during the post-match presentation: "They are playing some really good cricket at home and we are making mistakes in the middle. It's good learning for us.

"Obviously it's not great to be on the losing side two games in a row. We're trying to get better at things we haven't done well in the past.

"The middle order is crucial going into a big tournament. We want to get wickets in the middle, create pressure. They showed us the importance of partnerships and the importance of putting pressure on early."

The tourists must regroup ahead of the third and final ODI at Newlands, where they may make alterations to the side.

Rahul said: "I'm not saying it as an excuse but we haven't played 50 overs cricket in a long time. It's been tough on the body, staying in the bubbles. It's challenging, but I'm not saying we don't love challenges.

"[We have to] look ahead to the third game and try to win that one. Maybe a few changes, may not be, I can't say."

The tourists collapsed from 102-1 to 215 all out in the 40th over after Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

That was not enough to avoid going 2-0 down, KL Rahul top scoring with an unbeaten 64 to get India home with 40 balls to spare.

Nuwanidu Fernando made 50 on his debut, putting on 73 with Kusal Mendis (34) before Sri Lanka's batting frailties were exposed.

Dhananjaya de Silva was bowled first ball by Axar Patel after Kuldeep (3-51) trapped Kusal leg before and Dunith Wellalage (32) got a start but fell to Siraj.

Umran Malik (2-48) also made an impact with the ball and Siraj (3-39) finished off the innings by cleaning up Lahiru Kumara.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gil made only 17 and 21 respectively before Virat Kohli played on to a delivery from Kumara for just four after making a century in the first ODI.

India were 86-4 in the 15th over when Shreyas Iyer departed, but Rahul and Hardik Pandya (36) steadied the ship. 

Sri Lanka were in still in with a chance of levelling the series after Chamika Karunaratne (2-51) saw the back of Pandya and Axar fell for 21, but Rahul and Kuldeep saw India home.

Promising start for Nuwanidu 

It was an impressive start to his international career for 23-year-old opening batter Nuwanidu.

He struck six boundaries in an assured 63-ball knock at the top of the order against an excellent attack.

Nuwanidu will be kicking himself over the manner of his soft dismissal, Charith Asalanka sending him back after he set off for a run that was never there.

Rahul holds India run chase together

It was the experienced Rahul who provided the glue to keep India's run chase together in the middle of the order.

After coming in at number five, he spent over two and half hours at the crease in a responsible innings, waiting for any loose deliveries as he found the rope just six times and rotated the strike well.

That is 12 ODI wins in 13 matches at home to Sri Lanka for India and 10 multi-game bilateral series victories out of 11 over the Asia Cup champions on home soil.

India cruised to an eight-wicket win in the low-scoring opener on Wednesday, but the runs flowed in Guwahati on Sunday as Suryakumar Yadav (61) and KL Rahul (57) helped the hosts post an imposing 237-3.

Suryakumar and Rahul both hit half-centuries in the first match, and they were at it again as South Africa's bowling attack failed to get control of the match, with only Keshav Maharaj (2-23) picking up wickets as the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi struggled.

India's score was their fourth-highest in T20Is, aided by important innings from captain Rohit Sharma (43) and Virat Kohli's unbeaten 49. Yadav's runs, meanwhile, came from just 22 balls, five of which he despatched for six.

South Africa's chase started woefully, as captain Temba Bavuma and Rilee Rossouw were both dismissed for nought by Arshdeep Singh in the second over.

Quinton de Kock and Miller fought to keep South Africa in the game, as former captain De Kock made a snappy 69 not out while Miller hit 106no from 47 balls.

Despite those efforts, the Proteas never truly threatened to chase the challenging total as they lost the series with a game left to play, finishing on 221-3. The third match takes place on Tuesday in Indore.

Record-setting Suryakumar

Suryakumar became the fastest player to reach 1,000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced, as he hit five fours and as many maximums to post his second half-century in a row.

He reached 1,000 T20I runs in 573 balls, 31 fewer than the previous record-holder Glenn Maxwell required, and helped India to set a huge target as the Proteas bowlers were carted to all parts.

Rabada struggles to make a dent

A key member of South Africa's pace attack, Rabada failed to make a significant impact as he finished with figures of 0-57 in his four overs.

The most expensive of the visitors' bowlers, Rabada was hit for 10 boundaries as India stormed to a total out of South Africa's reach.

The batter has been skippering the side in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, but he suffered an injury on Wednesday, the eve of the match.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's first day, batting coach Vikram Rathour indicated the blow was not a major one, but did not confirm whether Rahul would be fit to start.

"It doesn't [look serious]," he said. "He seems to be fine. Hopefully he'll be okay. The doctors are looking at it, but hopefully he'll be okay."

Rahul's potential absence would be a major blow to India, who are looking to seal a Test sweep after a 2-1 defeat to their hosts in their ODI series earlier this month.

Aside from Rohit, who is out with a thumb injury, Jasprit Bumrah remains a long-term absentee with back trouble, while Navdeep Saini is also missing for the second game due to a muscular problem.

Interim vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara is the likely candidate to take over the leadership if Rahul is unable to recover in time, while Abhimanyu Easwaran could make his debut at the top of the order.

The Bengal batsman posted consecutive hundreds for India's A side, and was originally called up to the senior squad as Rohit's replacement.

Jadeja scored 44 off 23 balls in Canberra as the tourists posted 161-7 before restricting Australia to 150-7 in response.

KL Rahul had laid some firm foundations as the opener put on a measured 51 to mitigate the early loss of Shikhar Dhawan, who contributed only one run.

The hosts also kept a lid on Virat Kohli, the India captain caught and bowled by Mitchell Swepson for nine.

Jadeja came to the crease with his side 92-5 in the 14th over and bludgeoned five fours and a six to lift India to a solid total.

He was struck on the helmet in the final over by a Mitchell Starc delivery and, though he initially continued, was replaced by concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal instead of taking to the field.

Australia's reply looked to be coming along nicely as D'Arcy Short (34) and Aaron Finch (35) put on 56 for the first wicket. 

Hardik Pandya catches ultimately accounted for both, with dangerous duo Glenn Maxwell (2) and Steve Smith (12) unable to stick around for long.

Moises Henriques' 30 off 20 raised hopes of a revival, but some excellent bowling from Thangarasu Natarajan (3-30) and Chahal (3-25) kept Australia at bay.

The sides meet again in Sydney on Sunday in the second game of a three-match series.