Australia registered a consolation 12-run victory over India in the third and final T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday (December 8).

Asked to bat first, the hosts piled up a massive 186/5 in 20 overs on the back of Matthew Wade’s 53-ball 80 and Glenn Maxwell’s 36-ball 54.

Washington Sundar was the stand-out bowler for India, claiming 2 wickets by conceding 34 runs in his four overs.

In reply, the visitors managed 174/4 in 20 overs. Skipper Virat Kohli was the lone warrior with the bat for India, scoring 85 off 61 balls. Hero of the last game, Hardik Pandya, scored 13-ball 20 but failed to see the team through on this occasion. Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson picked up three wickets for Australia.

Reflecting on the loss, Indian captain Kohli admitted that the middle over phase during batting cost them the game.

“At one stage when Hardik started going we thought we could pull it off. The middle over phase during our batting cost us the game. A partnership of 30-odd would've made it easier for Hardik. We are finding ways to come back and give the opposition a scare and the series win is a little asterisk for us to finish the 2020 season on a high,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli also spoke about the electric atmosphere at the SCG because of the capacity crowd.

“I feel the crowd was a factor as well, it's always giving you a dimension of motivation. Our crowd pulls us through sometimes, and Australia's too, and we as players feed off the crowd's energy,” he added.

The focus now shifts to the Test series, starting with the day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.

“We need to take the same competitive attitude into the Tests, and having played here a few times, we can score runs as well. Once it's time to capitalize and score, we need to do that session by session. I'm sure the current side is stronger than last time (Test matches) and I'll see if I can play the tour match,” Kohli concluded.