India versus Australia 2nd ODI: 5 players who led India to victory

India held their nerves to register a thrilling 8 run win in the second ODI played at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur on Tuesday. It was an exciting match as the contest swung from one side to another before the Virat Kohli led side clinched the match in final over.

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to field first. Thanks to Kohli’s 116, Vijay Shankar's quickfire 46 off 41 balls, and Ravindra Jadeja's 21, India posted the score of 250 in 48.2 overs. In reply, the Australian openers made a great start putting on 83 runs for the opening wicket before Indian spinners troubled the visiting batsmen.

Marcus Stoinis was involved in two important partnerships with Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a brilliant over to dismiss Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins in space of three deliveries to give India a chance of winning the match. Shankar proved his credentials by picking the important wicket of Stoinis and then Adam Zampa to give India a thrilling win.

Here we look at the four players who were crucial in the win.

#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli came to the crease after the loss of Rohit Sharma’s wicket in the first over itself. The Indian captain looked solid with his approach on a tough wicket. He reached his fifty off 55 balls and put the pressure back on Australian bowlers.

Kohli and Shankar added 81 runs for the fourth wicket which steadied the innings. As wickets fell at the other end, Kohli continued to guide the Indian innings and reached his 40th ODI century off 107 balls. He was finally dismissed for well-made 116 by Cummins.

His innings led India to 250 in 48.2 overs. He took singles and hit boundaries at regular intervals. It was an amazing performance by already one of the greatest batsmen in ODI cricket.