Kohli, Jadeja lead visitors to commanding win in AdelaideMatch centre: as it happened
Adelaide: Australia captain Aaron Finch cited another sloppy fielding performance from his team and his own inability to build a decent start with the bat as factors in why India claimed a decisive victory in the opening match of the Twenty20 series.
India posted 3-188 after being made to bat first at Adelaide Oval, a total inspired by Virat Kohli's 90 not out from 55 deliveries. 
Finch (44 off 33) and Steve Smith (21 off 14) were the only batsmen to reach 20 on the way to Australia being bowled out for 151 in the final over. Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin claimed 4-49 between them.
Finch was unhappy Australia gave two lives to opener Rohit Sharma in the powerplay: on 4 by Kane Richardson on the fine-leg boundary and on 23 by Cameron Boyce at short third-man. He cited them as a reason Australia had to chase 189, rather than a total closer to 170.
"When you're bowling against someone like Virat Kohli, who's in red-hot nick at the moment, and (Suresh) Raina was striking them nicely, it was always going to be hard. But we didn't help ourselves with our catching. It's something we've serious got to look at. It's two games in a row now, in two different formats, that it's let us down," said Finch, in reference to how Australia also lost the final match of the one-day series on Sunday in Sydney.
"It's a little bit contagious at the moment. I think we need someone to pull off a half chance and everyone is back up and about again."
Kohli and Suresh Raina (41 off 34) put on 134 runs for the third wicket, before the latter fell in the final over.
Vice-captain Kohli's innings took his record in Australia, across all formats, to 2136 runs at an average of 56.21, with nine centuries and seven half-centuries - a record hailed by his captain, M.S. Dhoni.
"I think in Adelaide they're making a stand [named after] him. With the [number] of runs he's scoring, by the time he ends his career quite a few Australian grounds will have his stand," Dhoni quipped, in relation to the 27-year-old batsman.
"He's batting really well. The important thing is when he's taking a risk of playing a big shot he calculates it well.
"It's good if youngsters, if they get a chance, if they grab it with both hands. I feel Virat did it really well, once he got the chance to bat up the order."
Even though Finch was comfortably Australia's top-scorer, he assumed blame for the loss, lamenting at conceding 14 dot balls in his stay at the crease. Kohli, by contrast, allowed only 11 in his 55-ball innings.
"I allowed us to get too far behind the rate from the start. Davey Warner and Steve Smith were outstanding with their intent. I just couldn't get off strike, couldn't hit boundaries for a period there, so I take full responsibility for them getting out, and Travis (Head)," he said.
"After I was 20-odd off 12 I've probably got to capitalise more than that, probably be the aggressor and take the game forward a bit quicker. They kept bowling at the pads and, for some reason, I couldn't hit them today."
One thing Finch was pleased about was the bowling form of Shane Watson. He came into the attack with India 0-40 in the powerplay and proceeded to take 2-1 in his first over. He was comfortably Australia's most economical bowler.
Finch said Watson's bowling was "outstanding", with his variation in pace and length reflecting his extensive experience.
Even though Watson failed with the bat it was a performance that bolstered his claim for inclusion in Australia's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 championship in   March.
The Australia squad will travel to Melbourne on Wednesday, and will attend the Allan Border Medal on Wednesday night.
The three-match series resumes on Friday night, at the MCG.