The Indian cricket team beat their Australian counterparts in a must-win one day international game to keep their hopes for an ODI series win alive. Led by Captain Virat Kohli's magnificent century and former skipper MS Dhoni's unbeaten, match-winning half-century, the Indians clinched a 6 wicket victory over the Kangaroos with just 4 balls to spare in the second ODI of the three-match limited over series on Tuesday.

Earlier, Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat at the Adelaide Oval. However, the hosts lost both their openers Finch and Alex Carey in quick succession before Shaun Marsh came to the crease and played a spectacular inning of 131 off 123 balls to guide his side to a competitive total of 298 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs. 

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell chipped in with a quick-fire 48 off 37 deliveries to keep the momentum going close on the heels of Marsh's majestic batting. India's bowling spearheads Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami were the pick of the bowlers as Kumar bagged 4 wickets while Shami made a match-haul of 3 wickets. Debutant Mohammed Siraj got a nightmarish start to his international career as he returned with the expensive match figures of 0 for 76 – the second most expensive by an Indian debutant.

India's chase began on a positive note as their openers – Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan – put together a 47 run partnership. But both of them failed to convert their individual scores to half centuries and perished after a while. Once Kohli came to the crease and started playing confidently, India got the edge. The Indian captain didn't allow the Australian bowler to seize control of the game as he played some superb shots to notch up his 39th hundred in the shorter format of the game. 

Once Man of the Match Kohli departed after scoring a patient 104 off 112 balls and laying the foundation for a perfect chase, it was left to India's greatest finisher Dhoni to seal the deal. The 2011 World Cup-winning captain brought out his vintage best and hit a timely six to settle the score in the final over. He was well supported by fellow wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who played a crucial cameo knock of 25 off 14 balls.

With Australia winning their first ODI in Sydney and now India bouncing back in Adelaide, the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the series-deciding final one day match on January 18. All eyes will be on Kohli & Co. as they never won a bilateral ODI series on the Australian soil till date. Buoyed by their historic first-ever Test series victory just a few days ago, the Men in Blue will gun for the ODI series win as well.