PHOTOS: India win second T20 to end losing streak

India ran out four Australian batsmen in a brilliant fielding effort before surviving a late attack of nerves to win the second Twenty20 match by eight wickets with two balls to spare in Melbourne, on Friday.

Explosive opener David Warner (8) was the first wicket to fall when he heaved Praveen down to deep square leg where Gautam Gambhir, took a few steps back to accept a good catch.

- Scorecard

Shaun Marsh (0), afforded a chance to help his confidence in this miserable summer, was once again a failure, steering his second ball from Praveen into the hands of lone slip Virender Sehwag.

- Match report

It still was a fortuitous dismissal as Sehwag diving to his left, couldn't quite hold on to the ball but did the smart thing by flicking the ball in the air for Dhoni to complete the chance.

Shaun Marsh (0), afforded a chance to help his confidence in this miserable summer, was once again a failure, steering his second ball from Praveen Kumar into the hands of lone slip Virender Sehwag.

Aaron Finch (36 off 23 balls), opening in place of Matthew Wade this time, played a few strokes early on before being run out at a critical time.

The hosts crashed to 54-4 courtesy of some shambolic running between the wickets.

David Hussey poked to backward point and called through Finch for a quick single, but Ravindra Jadeja steamed in and hurled a sharp throw to Dhoni with Finch caught well short.

Jadeja was in the thick of it again two overs later, making a sliding save at backward point and throwing to the bowlers end where Rahul Sharma broke the stumps with Bailey a long way from home after being sent back by Hussey.

Man-of-the-match Jadeja completed his heroics by catching Hussey for 24 off his own bowling.

Opener Gautam Gambhir (56 not out) led the Indian charge and with Virender Sehwag (23) provided the best start of the Australian tour, putting on 43 runs from 6.3 overs for the first wicket.

Sehwag was brilliantly caught at short cover by Shaun Marsh off left-arm chinaman bowler Brad Hogg but not before hitting a monstrous six off left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty which went many rows deep at the long-on fence at the huge MCG stadium.

Gambhir was determined to see India through and made a well-constructed 56 off 60 balls with four fours.

The left-hander reached his half century in the 18th over off a misfield which allowed him three runs. He faced 54 balls and hit three fours to notch up his fifty.

India's lone centurion in the Test series, Virat Kohli (31) gave Gambhir good company as India progressed smoothly in the middle overs.

Gambhir and Kohli put on 54 runs off 43 balls for the second wicket to put India on course for an easy victory.

Gambhir and wicketkeeper captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was left unbeaten on 21, took their time to stroke the winning runs after needing only a single off the last eight balls.

With captain George Bailey calling his team in close, Dhoni and Gambhir smashed a number of shots straight to the fielders to give the crowd of 62,000 a whiff of an unlikely Australian victory.

But Gambhir threw caution to the wind, backing away to bash the winning runs off paceman Clint McKay.

That completed an emphatic victory by the tourists who were thrashed by 31 runs in the first T20 match in Sydney.

The result also meant India finally ended a 14-match winless streak abroad after also failing to win a game in England last year.