Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya secure the T20 series for India

The Indian cricket team sealed the T20 International series against Australia with one game left to play at Sydney. The Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan smashed a scintillating 36-ball 52 in the second innings on Sunday.

The Virat-led side managed to pay back their ODI series loss as they chased down a challenging 195-run target in the 2^nd T20. India won the first match in Canberra by 11 runs on Friday.

Needing 25 of the last two overs, Pandya brought the equation down to 14 in the last over with two fours. The all-rounder then two massive sixes to seal the match in India's favor.

Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 42 off 22 deliveries

Team India had a dignified start with no boundaries in the first two overs. But then fours and sixes poured as Dhawan, and KL Rahul once settled in the crease. Shikhar Dhawan scored a couple of boundaries before hitting a six off Glenn Maxwell. The men in blue then scored 34 runs in two overs to gain the momentum back. 

The hosts got their first breakthrough when Rahul gave a simple catch to Mitchell Swepson at deep point. India had still managed a strong start, accomplishing 60 runs at the end of the Powerplay. Dhawan played some fine shots, but his attempt to slog-sweep off gave Australia their second wicket. 

Sanju Samson scored 15 runs in 10 deliveries. It was an excellent day for Daniel Sams as he made his T20 international debut.  The pacer gave the hosts their most significant breakthrough when he had the Indian skipper caught behind. Virat Kohli made 40 runs in 24 balls.

In the first innings, the stand-in skipper Matthew Wade led the side with a half-century. He powered the hosts to a substantial total after an excellent commanding performance with the bat. 

Steve Smith played some excellent shots whereas Maxwell smashed Chahal for two sixes before falling to Thakur's change of pace. Henriques joined Smith, and the two carried the innings at the same rate before giving away their wickets to Chahal and Natarajan respectively.

For the Indian side, T Natarajan finished with remarkable figures of 2/20 in his four-over spell. Team Australia amassed 62 runs in the last five overs after a few tough middle overs.

With this, The Indian team grabs their 10th successive win away from home in T20 International cricket. Team India will now lock horns against Australia in the final T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

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