Captain Virat Kohli all but apologised to Indian fans after slipping to a four-run defeat at the hands of Australia in Wednesday’s opening T20I in Brisbane.

The hosts gathered 158 for four in 17 overs in the rain-affected encounter, after which the visitors were limited to 169 for seven in pursuit of an adjusted target of 174.

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis starred with bat and ball, while the big-hitting Glenn Maxwell top-scored. Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan’s half-century, meanwhile, went in vain.

‘A lot of Indians came to support us. It was a great atmosphere to play in. It was sort of a seesaw battle. We bowled well and then they came back into the game with Stoinis and Maxwell batting well,’ said Dhawan.

‘Shikhar, that was a really good knock from him. Dinesh Karthik at the end played really well as well.’

The result afforded the hosts an early lead in the three-match series. The second T20I will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday and the third at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

‘We don’t have much time to think of things. That’s the good thing as well as a bad thing when you haven’t won the game. You just move on to the next game,’ concluded Kohli.

Image: Getty