Centurions Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan help India stun Australia

India pulled off a sensational sixwicket victory over Australia in the doordie sixth cricket onedayer riding on Virat Kohli39s brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawan39s blistering century to level the sevenmatch series 22 at Nagpur on Wednesday Chasing a mammoth 351 the Indians gave ample display of their batting firepower on a belter of a track at the VCA Stadium at Jamtha to overhaul the target with three balls to spare in what turned out to be a thrilling floodlit contest which went down to the wire Virat Kohli acknowledges the crowd after reaching the threefigure mark at nagpur on Wednesday The incredible run chase brought back memories of India39s awesome victory in Jaipur on October 16 when they overhauled a stiff target of 360 achieving the second highest successful run chase ever in ODI history Dhawan 100 Rohit Sharma 79 and Kohli who hit the third fastest ODI hundred by an Indian from just 61 balls were the main architects of India39s victory in the highscoring tussle which has restored the balance of the series after the Ranchi and Cuttack ODIs were washed out Earlier George Bailey 156 and Shane Watson 102 smashed scintillating centuries as Australia put the listless Indian bowling attack to the sword to post an imposing 350 for six after being in to bat India replied in stunning fashion with Dhawan hitting his fourth ODI ton in his 24th match while Kohli struck his 17th century in his 118th match Dhawan faced 102 balls in his innings and hit 11 boundaries while Kohli39s unbeaten knock came from just 66 balls with the help of 18 fours and a six Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 25 not out hit the winning runs a two as India reached 351 for four to bring the capacity crowd to raptures and the home team players hugging each other at the dressing room With the scores locked 22 the seventh ODI in Bangalore on Saturday will serve as the summit showdown of the series which has already seen a phenomenal 2565 runs scored so far excluding the 295 scored by Australia in the abandoned fourth match at Ranchi India stuttered a bit towards the end as Suresh Raina 16 and struggling Yuvraj Singh 0 were out in the same over 43rd but Kohli who had hit the fastestever 100 off just 52 balls by an Indian in Jaipur and an equally unruffled Dhoni saw them home with an unbroken partnership of 61 for the fifth wicket The game looked on a knife39s edge even after the great start given by Dhawan and Rohit who shared 178 runs from 293 overs for the opening wicket after Mitchell Johnson struck twice in one over but Kohli tore into the visitors39 bowling attack to swing the game back in India39s favour Dhawan was lucky to be let off when on 19 off James Faulkner at flygully by Glenn Maxwell and then survived a difficult chance after reaching his 50 In between these two escapes and earlier too he got his runs mainly by using his bottom hand to hit square and behind the wicket on both sides and reached his half century with a runaball effort Rohit who made an unbeaten 141 in the earlier successful run chase at Jaipur started off cautiously against the medium pacers and then was severe on Maxwell whom he hit for two sixes in the 29th over and then fell while trying to repeat the feat in the next over When Rohit exited India needed 173 from 183 balls and Kohli started off positively by striking Xavier Doherty for a six and two fours in 33rd over Dhawan and Kohli brought the hosts 117 runs adrift of the target in the last 96 balls with a stand of 56 when the left handed opener departed off the leftarm pacer James Faulker Kohli India39s most consistent batsman in the series and Raina got involved in a partnership of 54 to bring the home team close to victory Johnson treated harshly by Kohli in his previous over came back strongly to dismiss lefthanders Raina and Yuvraj in the 43rd over at the same total of 290 to bring his side back into the game Kohli and Dhoni however ensured that India got past the finish line though at one time during their partnership the home side needed 48 off 30 balls and then 35 off the last 18 Earlier Watson struck 13 fours and three sixes in making 102 off 94 balls while the inform Bailey was equally impressive in scoring a careerbest 156 his second ODI ton in 115 balls as Australia scored an imposing 350 for six Shikhar Dhawan during his knock against the Aussies in Nagpuru00a0 These two batsmen also compiled the secondhighest third wicket stand of 168 in ODIs against India to help the visitors record their fourth 300plus total in the series The home team started off well by sending back openers Phil Hughes 13 and Aaron Finch 20 before the score had crossed 50 but were pushed into the backseat as Watson and Bailey launched a superb counterattack The duo simply tore apart the clueless Indian bowling attack that fielded three frontline spinners for the first time in the sevenmatch series after the hosts decided to go in with Amit Mishra to partner R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja Later after the dismissal of Watson and Glen Maxwell 9 Adam Voges 44 not out helped his captain add another 120 runs in only 80 balls for the fifth wicket to complete India39s misery on a good batting track While the 32yearold Watson was all power Bailey who has been the team39s most consistent batsman in the series once again dominated the home team attack to notch up his fourth 50plus score in five innings India had the visitors under check in the first 20 overs by restricting Australia to 832 but the middle overs were totally dominated by Watson and Bailey who compiled the secondbestever third wicket stand for their country against the hosts The 168run partnership that came off just 142 balls was only the secondhighest after Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn39s unfinished 234 in the 2003 World Cup final at Johannesburg and the eighth 150plus stand for all wickets against Indiau00a0 Brief Scores Australia 350 for six in 50 overs George Bailey 156 Shane Watson 102 Adam Voges 44 Ravichandran Ashwin 264 Ravindra Jadeja 268 vs India 351 for four in 493 overs Virat Kohli 115 not out Shikhar Dhawan 100 Rohit Sharma 79 Mitchell Johnson 272 Aaron Finch 120