Kolkata ODI: Kohli, Rahane help India finish at 252

Kolkata [India], September 21 (ANI): Skipper Virat Kohli produced a rich vein of form as he struck a blistering 92-run knock to help India post a respectable target of 252 runs for Australia in the second ODI of the five-match series against Australia at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Opting to bat first, the hosts didn't made a good start to their innings, losing opener Rohit Sharma just for seven runs.

Ajinkya Rahane, who is opening the batting for India in the ongoing series in Shikhar Dhawan's absence, then joined forces with skipper Kohli and went on to share a crucial 102-run stand for the second wicket.

While Rahane struck seven boundaries in his 55-run knock off 64 balls, Kohli slammed his 45th half-century, but fell just eight runs short of her 31st ODI.

The 28-year old run-machine, who was just one century short of surpassing former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's 30 ODI tally, fell for the sixth time in the nervous nineties when he was bowled by Nathan Coulter Nile.

This could have been Kohli's third century in his last four ODIs and his sixth against Australia.

Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who slammed an 83-run knock in the opening ODI, scored two boundaries before being dismissed for 20 runs.

Former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who also smashed a winning runs in Chennai, fell cheaply for five runs.

For Australia, Coulter Nile was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged three wickets by giving away just 51 runs followed by Kane Richardson's figure of three for 55.

Ashton Agar also chipped in with a wicket.

The match also saw some verbal battles with Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis, while trying to get stuck into Kohli when he was nearing a century. (ANI)