Rohit Sharma and Axar Patel help India level T20 series against Australia

Captain Rohit Sharma's blazing knock lifted India to a six-wicket victory over Australia in an enthralling shortened second T20 in Nagpur on Friday to level the three-match series at 1-1.

Chasing 91 after the match was reduced to eight overs a side due to a wet outfield, Rohit finished with a 20-ball unbeaten 46 while Dinesh Karthik scored the winning runs with four balls to spare after Axar Patel (2-13) did the damage earlier.

India were cruising at 51-1 at the halfway stage, with Adam Zampa briefly halting their momentum by taking out opener KL Rahul (10) and threatened to derail their chase after dismissing Virat Kohli (11) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) in successive balls.

The hosts remained in control, however, despite Zampa's outstanding 3-16 spell, thanks to captain Rohit leading the charge before Karthik hit a four and a six off the only two balls he faced to wrap up the victory against the world champions.

"I didn't expect it to go quite as well as that," Rohit, who hit four fours and as many sixes, said after collecting the player of the match award.

"Glad [Karthik] could finish well. It's been a while since he had some time in the middle," Sharma added.

Overnight rain had rendered the outfield waterlogged and although the weather had been clear on Friday, the start of play was postponed by two-and-a-half hours after several pitch inspections.

B. O. O. M! ⚡️ ⚡️@Jaspritbumrah93 strikes to dismiss Aaron Finch with a cracker of a yorker.