Stoinis leads Aussies to thrilling T20 victory over India

Australia have survived some nervous moments to hold off a valiant Indian chase at the Gabba with a four-run win that snapped a four-game Twenty20 losing streak.

Storms reduced Wednesday’s tour opener to a 17-a-side fixture, with India requiring 174 for victory after the hosts posted 4-158.

And they looked on track with Shikhar Dhawan (76 from 42) piloting the chase, until Adam Zampa (2-22 from four overs) dismissed captain Virat Kohli for just four.

Dhawan, who Zampa had dropped off his own bowling on 65, was caught on the third man boundary in the next over.

Needing more than two a ball in the last five overs, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant took 25 off Andrew Tye in the 14th over to drag themselves back into the contest.

Pant then departed and left India needing 13 off the final over.

But Marcus Stoinis held his nerve, taking two wickets to leave India stranded at 7-169.

Tye finished with figures of 1-47 from this three overs, while Glenn Maxwell (46 from 24) and Chris Lynn (37 from 20) had earlier put Australia on the front foot.

Poised to charge at 3-153 off 16.1 overs, heavy rain swept through Brisbane and delayed their innings by almost an hour.

Australia were only given five more balls to post a total, in which they managed five runs.

Maxwell hit three consecutive sixes at one stage and hit the spidercam with another skied effort that was deemed a dead ball.

Lynn had hit four sixes, including one that travelled 108 metres to be caught in the Gabba’s top tier, while Aaron Finch (27 from 24) and Stoinis (33 not out from 19) also found the boundary.

Indian were sloppy in their tour opener, dropping two catches and missing a run-out of Maxwell when he was yet to hit his straps.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of India’s bowlers, taking 2-24 from his four overs.

The series moves to Melbourne on Friday before the finale at the SCG on Sunday.