All-rounder Marcus Stoinis contributed with both bat and ball to guide Australia to a narrow four-run victory against India in the rain-hit first T20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.

Stoinis stroked an unbeaten 33 from 19 balls and then claimed two wickets in the final over as India finished on 169 for seven in 17 overs, to lose by four runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Shikhar Dhawan had rallied India after the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma (7) as he smashed a quickfire 76 from 42 balls.

But the quick dismissals of KL Rahul (13), Virat Kohli and Dhawan saw India lose their way in the middle overs.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled a splendid spell of two for 22 in four overs, including the key wicket of Kohli.

Dinesh Karthik kept India alive as he slammed 30 from 13 balls but Stoinis kept his composure in the final over and prevented India from getting the 13 runs required for victory.

The second T20 International will be played in Melbourne on Friday, November 23 at 1320 hours IST.

Stoinis to bowl the final over with India needing 13 for victory. Krunal punches the first ball down to long-on as he fails to time it well which allows him to come back for two.

Stoinis then follows it up with a wide yorker as Krunal is beaten outside the off-stump.

The third ball is a slower ball as Krunal goes for the big hit down the ground but is caught by Maxwell at long-on, who does well with the forward drive.

Another slower ball and this time Karthik slices it straight to Maxwell at long-off to perish after a good innings of 30 from 13 balls.

Stoinis attempts another slower ball but ends up giving a wide to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The right-hander swings hard at the next ball but hits it on the bounce to long-on for just a single.

Kuldeep Yadav pulls the last ball over short fine leg for a four but India end up losing by four runs.

Finch places his trust with Tye, who has struggled so far, giving 37 from his first two overs.

The first ball is a slower ball but right in the slot wide, full and outside off-stump as Karthik drills it through the covers for a four.

Tye cuts back the length but the line is poor as he ends up bowling a wide outside the off-stump before Karthik takes a single.

Pant throws his wicket away with a strange shot as he initially goes for the paddle scoop but ends up lobbing the full toss on the off-side to be caught for 20.

Tye bowls a quick bouncer to Krunal Pandya, who is hit on the helmet as he picks a leg bye.

Karthik is beaten outside the off-stump as Tye bowls a wide delivery which moves away enough to beat the intended drive.

But he crashes the last ball through midwicket for a four to bring the equation down to 13 from the last over.

Andrew Tye comes back into the attack. The first ball is down the leg side as Pant hits it over the fine leg fence for a six and then lofts the next wide of long-on for a four.

Tye then tries a short ball which goes down the leg side and is called a wide before Pant pulls the next to deep midwicket for one.

Karthik drives the fourth ball through the off-side for two runs followed by a wide.

Tye then bowls it wide as Karthik gets a thick outside edge for a four. The next ball is a full toss as Karthik swings it over midwicket where Maxwell makes a valiant effort, diving over the ropes but is unable to throw the ball back before his feet touches the ground to give away a six.

A big over for India as Tye concedes 25 runs in the over. They need another 35 runs from three overs for victory.

Medium pacer Stoinis comes back into the attack. The first ball is a slower ball as Pant mishits it on the off-side for two runs and then takes one to long-on.

Karthik does well to run down the track before flicking the slower off-cutter past short fine leg for a four.

The next ball is again slow as Karthik gets a thick outside edge for a single before Stoinis bowls a high full toss to Pant and gives away a wide and also a free hit.

Stoinis bowls another slower ball as Pant mishits it to long-off on the bounce for just a single.

Karthik cuts the last ball for another single as India reach 150 for four in 15 overs, needing 24 from two overs for victory.

Zampa bowling a superb spell. He starts his fourth and final over with two dot balls to Pant, who then chips the third ball on the leg side but fails to get the distance for a couple to long-on.

He goes hard at the fourth ball but only for one to long-off and Karthik can only pick a single off the next.

The last ball is a googly as Pant can only get a single on the off-side.

Wonderful bowling from Zampa as he gives away just four runs in his final over to finish with good figures of two for 22 in four overs.

India are 114 for four in 13 overs, needing 60 from four overs for victory at 15 per over.

Billy Stanlake comes back into the attack. He bowls it short as Rishabh Pant nudges it to fine leg for a single. He drops short again and this time Dhawan pulls it over square leg for a six.

The next ball is again pulled by Dhawan but he fails to make proper connection. The fielder at fine leg rushes in but fails to take a low catch as Dhawan rushes across for two runs.

Stanlake keeps bowling short as Dhawan this time makes room and tries to play the ramp shot but it goes straight to the fielder on the thirdman fence.

Dhawan walks back after a fantastic innings of 76 from 42 balls, having hit 10 fours and two sixes.

Stanlake tries another bouncer which goes down the leg side and is called a wide followed by a full delivery as Pant misses the flick and collects a leg bye.

Dinesh Karthik runs the last ball down to thirdman for two runs to get 13 from the over.

Medium pacer Marcus Stoinis comes into the attack. Kohli picks one from the first ball before Dhawans lofts the next wide of long-off for two runs and then picks a single.

Stoinis drops short as Kohli goes for the pull but is beaten by the lack of pace and Dhawan has to wait before he plays the pull for another run to deep square leg.

The next ball is a quick bouncer but it goes over Kohli and is called a wide.

The last ball is wide as Kohli throws his bat and gets a thick outside edge wide of thirdman for a couple.

Make or break time for India with the asking rate creeping up to 12.

Zampa continues as Dhawan, on 65 from 37 balls, hits one straight back but the bowler is unable to hold on to the sharp chance on his follow through.

Dhawan then drives the third ball for a single and Zampa bowls another dot ball to Kohli, who attempts the cross batted slog but fails to find the gap.

A desperate Kohli jumps down the track but fails to get hold of it and is caught by the fielder at short thirdman.

Kohli walks back after a struggling four from eight balls to leave India in trouble on 94 for three, in the 11th over.

India need 78 from six overs for victory.

The asking rate is over 11 as Dhawan continues his attacking approach. Behrendorff picks a full delivery off his pads over the fine leg fence for a six and then takes two runs off the next to race to his half-century from just 28 balls.

Dhawan in the mood as he hammers the fast bowler on the up through the gap in the covers for a four before he mistimes the slower ball, trying to force it through the off-side.

Dhawan then comes down the track and smashes the last ball straight down the ground for another four as 17 come from the over.

Meanwhile, India are gifted a no-ball as wicketkeeper Alex Carey breaks the stumps with his gloves while Rahul was hitting the ball. As per the rules, if the wicketkeeper illegally breaks the stumps with his gloves then it is ruled a no-ball.

But Rahul can't make most of the free hit delivery as he lofts it over the off-side for a couple.

Zampa then beats him with a flighted delivery which turns big as Carey comes up with a sharp stumping. The decision is referred to the TV umpire who rules it out, it is a very close call as India lose their second wicket.

Rahul walks back after scoring just 13 from 12 balls.

Good bowling from Zampa as he bowls two dot balls to new batsman Virat Kohli, who gets off the mark with a single.

Dhawan gets a thick outside edge off the last ball for two runs past short thirdman.

India need 90 runs from eight overs for victory.

A change in the bowling as Andrew Tye comes into the attack. Three singles from the first three balls before Dhawan comes down the track and smashes it back over the bowler's head for a four, to take past the 50-run mark, in the sixth over.

The next ball is short and Dhawan steers it wide of the wicketkeeper for another boundary and keeps strike with a single from the last ball.

Spin introduced as leg-spinner Adam Zampa comes into the attack. Dhawan taps the first ball on the leg side for one before Rahul cuts a short ball past point for a four.

Rahul sensibly turns the next ball through the leg side and comes back for two runs.

Zampa then gives it a bit of air and gets some turn as Rahul is beaten and the stumping appeal is referred upstairs but the batsman's feet are back in the crease.

Rahul keeps strike with a single from the last ball.

India are 61 for one in seven overs, needing another 113 runs from 10 overs for victory.

Dhawan on the charge as he powerfully pulls a short ball from Stanlake over square leg for a four and then takes a single next ball.

Rohit looks to join the party as he shuffles across his stumps and tries to help it over the short fine leg fielder but gets it high on the bat and gets just two runs.

Stanlake tries the bouncer as Rohit miscues the bouncer and is lucky that it falls just short of the fine leg fielder, who makes a good attempt diving forward.

Behrendorff makes the breakthrough with the big wicket of Rohit. The India vice-captain, who struggled for seven from eight balls, tries to break free as he attempts to loft it down the ground but fails to make proper connection and is caught at mid-on.

KL Rahul promoted to No. 3 ahead of captain Kohli. A single each to Dhawan and Rahul before the former pulls a short ball through the fine leg region for a four.

Left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff to open the bowling for Australia. The first ball is full and on the pads as Rohit Sharma clips it through midwicket for three runs to get off the mark.

The next ball is a wide half-volley as Shikhar Dhawan slaps it through the covers for a four to get off the mark in some style.

The third ball comes in as Dhawan is hit on the pads before he gets a thick inside edge off the next, as it goes past the stumps for a four behind the stumps.

Behrendorff gets it right off the last two balls, bowling it wide of the stumps and dragging Dhawan into having a poke only to get beaten courtesy of some away movement.

Pacer Billy Stanlake to bowl the second over. Rohit steers the second ball on the off-side for a single before the fast bowler bowls a bouncer down the leg side which is ruled a wide.

Stanlake then drifts wide as Dhawan slashes it past point for a four before he takes a single.

Dhawan looks to take the attack to Australi's bowlers early on. He chips down the track and smashes Behrendorff straight down the ground for a four and then guides a short ball past the slip fielder for two runs before he lofts the pacer over mid-on for another couple of runs.

Dhawan retains strike with a single off the last ball as India race to 27 for no loss in three overs.

India will chase the revised target of 174 in 17 overs as per the Duckworth-Lewis method for victory.

Earlier, Glenn Maxwell's quickfire knock rallied Australia to 158 for four in 17 overs in the rain-hit first T20 International against India in Brisbane.

Glenn Maxwell's quickfire knock rallied Australia to 158 for four in 17 overs in the rain-hit first T20 International against India in Brisbane.

The match was reduced to 17 overs per side following a spell of heavy rain at the Gabba.

Maxwell smashed 46 from 24 balls to provide the boost in the middle overs as he put on 78 runs from just 37 balls for the fourth wicket with Marcus Stoinis, who finished unbeaten on 33 from 19 balls.

Chris Lynn had hit a quickfire 37 from 20 balls, while Aaron Finch made 27 from 24 balls to rally Australia after a slow start.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he registered magnificent figures of two for 24 in four overs, while Jasprit Bumrah and Khaleel Ahmed picked up a wicket each.

All-rounder Krunal Pandya struggled with the ball as he was hit for 55 runs in his four overs.

Maxwell to take strike after the rain break with just five deliveries remaining for the Aussies.

The good thing for India is that Bumrah will have the ball in hand, he has proved to the best bowler in the death overs in limited overs cricket in the last couple of years.

Bumrah strikes with the very first delivery after the break. Maxwell looks to whip the first ball on the leg side but is beaten by the change of pace as he chips the slower ball straight to Bhuvneshwar at square leg.

New batsman Ben McDermott gets a high full toss first up which he miscues over the bowler's head for two runs.

But he is beaten completely by the next ball, the slower ball bowled as McDermott is early into the cross batted slog but fails to make any connection.

The next ball is again slow as the right-hander has another swing and is beaten again but this time Stoinis calls him across for a quick bye.

Bumrah bowls a superb yorker as Stoinis digs it out on the leg side for two runs as Australia finish on 158 for four in their 17 overs.

Some good news from the Gabba. Play is expected to resume in 10 minutes. Following the rain break, the match has been reduced to 17-overs per side, which means India will bowl five more deliveries.

Play will restart at 8.05pm local time (3.35pm IST).

It looks like the rain has stopped at the Gabba. The umpires have come out to have a look at the conditions as the groundstaff get busy with the mopping up work before they start to remove the covers.

But just as we says the rain has come back again and more covers are being pulled back to the middle.

Kuldeep comes back into the attack as India are desperate to break this dangerous partnership.

He tries the quicker ball and ends up bowling a leg side wide before Maxwell lofts the next ball over the covers for two runs and then picks one off the reverse sweep.

Stoinis picks one before Kuldeep bowls another wide and Maxwell takes two runs off the last ball.

Kuldeep finishes with good figures of two for 24 in four overs.

Australia look set for a huge finish as they race to 135 for three in 15 overs, scoring at nine per over.

Krunal drops short as Stoinis rocks back and pulls it over midwicket for a six. The next ball is fired right up as Stoinis slaps it down the ground for two runs before he takes one two balls later to the same fielder.

Krunal then bowls a high full toss which Maxwell heaves over midwicket for a huge six and he is unhappy that it was not called a no-ball for a high full toss.

Maxwell smashes the next ball straight but ends up hitting the spider cam and it is ruled a dead ball. He didn't time it well and would have been caught down the ground and Kohli is apparently unhappy.

Maxwell clips the last ball to deep midwicket for two runs to race to 46 from 23 balls.

17 runs from the over as Krunal registers expensive figures of 55 runs from his four overs with Australia going past 150, in the 16th over.

Bumrah comes back into the attack. Stoinis cuts the ball straight to Khaleel on the thirdman fence who puts down a simple catch.

It has started drizzling at The Gabba and the umpires are forced to halt play and call in the covers.

Australia have recovered after a shaky start to reach 153 for three in 16.1 overs, with Maxwell smashing 46 from 23 balls and Stoinis on 31 from 18 balls.

The two batsmen have taken the attack to the Indian bowlers as they have put on a quickfire stand of 78 from 36 balls.

A brilliant counterattack from the Aussies, hitting 63 runs from the last 25 balls.

Krunal starts his second over with a leg side followed by two singles before Maxwell cuts a short ball past point for two runs and then takes one on the leg side.

Stoinis attempts the reverse but fails to make connection and is given out leg before wicket.

After consulting his partner Maxwell, Stoinis decides to take the review.

That was a nothing shot from Stoinis as he had premeditated too early and was beaten. There is no inside edge but the ball tracker shows that the ball would have bounced over the stumps and Stoinis survives.

He clips the last ball to long-on for a single as Australia reach 90 for three in 12 overs.

Kuldeep, who took two for 16 in three overs, is taken off as Khaleel comes back into the attack.

India miss a golden opportunity to claim the wicket of Maxwell, who comes down a long way before he is sent back. KL Rahul at point is unable to hit the stumps at the non-striker's end with a direct hit.

Khaleel then drops short as Stoinis pulls it over midwicket for a four. The left-arm pacer then tries a quick bouncer which goes high as Stoinis goes for the upper cut and is beaten but the umpire rules it a wide.

Stoinis clips Khaleel to midwicket as Kohli comes charging in from the deep but fails to pick up the ball and ends up giving away three runs.

A single to Maxwell off the next ball brings up Australia's 100, in the 13th over.

Khaleel pitches the last ball right up as Stoinis lofts it back over the bowler's head for a four.

The runs continue to flow for Australia in the middle overs. Krunal bowls a low full toss which Maxwell clips to deep midwicket for two runs. He swings the next ball high over the midwicket fence for a six.

After a steady start Maxwell has cut loose! He hammers the last ball straight down the ground for another six before he swings the next ball for the same result over midwicket to make it a hat-trick of sixes as he races to 30 from 15 balls, with 20 coming from the last four balls.

Krunal fires the fifth ball right up as Maxwell flicks it behind square for two runs and keeps strike with one from the last ball as the spinner goes for 23 runs in his third over.

Spin from both ends as left-armer Krunal Pandya comes into the attack. Maxwell takes a single from the third ball before Lynn continues his attacking approach as he comes down the track and lofts the spinner back over his head for a six and takes one off the last ball to race to 37 from 19 balls with Australia reaching 75 for two in 10 overs at the halfway mark.

Kuldeep rocks Australia with the big wicket of Lynn, who fails to read the googly and ends up lobbing a simple return catch to the bowler.

Lynn perishes for a quickfire 37 from 20 balls to leave Australia in a spot of bother on 75 for three, in the 11th over.

After showing his prowess with four huge sixes, Lynn falls to a tame dismissal, trying to play a soft shot and is caught and bowled.

New batsman Marcus Stoinis looks to disrupt Kuldeep as he paddles the first ball he faces fine for two runs. Kuldeep tries the quicker ball and Stoinis plays the same shot for a four before the bowler switches his slip to leg slip.

Stoinis then reverse paddles the spinner for a single to thirdman and Maxwell picks one off the last ball.

Change of ends for Bhuvneshwar. He starts with a poor delivery, full and down the leg side as Finch glances it fine for a four and then takes one.

Lynn goes for the wild heave but is beaten completely and then tries to swing the fifth ball but gets a thick inside edge to fine leg for one and Finch takes a single off the last ball.

Spin introduced as Kuldeep Yadav comes in to bowl the seventh over, replacing Khaleel, who is taken off despite taking a wicket in his first over.

Two singles off the first two balls before Finch gently drives a full toss to long-off for one and Lynn also gets a single off the fourth.

Finch goes for the sweep off the fifth ball but is beaten as the appeal for LBW is turned down and India decide against the review.

Khaleel comes back into the attack. He smashes a full delivery from the pacer over the midwicket region for a six. He tries to swing the next ball again but this time he is beaten before he attempts the same shot and miscues it to fine leg for two runs to bring up Australia's 50, in the eighth over.

Lynn continues swinging and this time he makes proper connection as he pulls a short of good length ball for huge six over midwicket.

Khaleel bowls it full but Lynn manages to hit it straight down the ground for the third six of the over.

A single to Lynn off the last ball as Khaleel is smashed for 21 runs in his second over.

Kuldeep checks Australia's charge in the next over with the wicket of Finch, who attempts to hit a big one but gets a thick outside edge and is caught at short thirdman for 27 from 24 balls.

Finch is beaten by the googly from Kuldeep as he comes down the track and has a wild swing only to get the outside edge.

Glenn Maxwell drives a full delivery from Kuldeep through the covers for two runs and then takes a single.

Bhuvneshwar bowls in a good channel just outside the off-stump as Finch is unable to get a run off the first three balls, making it 10 dot balls out of 15 bowled so far.

The fourth ball is slightly short as Finch pulls it behind square and picks up two runs.

He then stands tall and punches a short ball straight to mid-off and steals a quick run.

The last ball is halfway down as Short pulls it through the vacant fine leg region for the first boundary of the innings.

DROPPED! Finch, on 6, gets a lifeline as Kohli at short cover puts down a tough chance. Finch goes hard at a full wide delivery from Bumrah, hitting it powerfully straight to Kohli who makes an attempt but the ball bursts through his fingers.

Following the dropped catch, Finch makes India pay with back to back fours. He hammers the third ball, which is full and on the stumps, straight down the ground beating mid-on for a four.

The next ball comes in sharply as Finch is cramped for room but gets a thick inside edge which goes short fine leg for another boundary.

He gets a thick outside edge off the last ball for two runs as Bumrah goes for 12 in the over.

A change in the bowling as left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed comes into the attack. He strikes with his very first delivery with the wicket of Short, who is caught by Kuldeep at mid-on, who does well to judge a high catch running back to his right.

Short, who made 7, went for the big shot down the ground despite not being to the pitch of the ball and ended up lobbing it high.

Finch goes for the cover drive next ball but gets an inside edge for a single.

Chris Lynn starts off in confident fashion as he drills a wide half-volley through the covers for a four to get off the mark and then picks one off the fifth ball and Finch keeps strike with one off the last ball.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens the bowling for India. He starts off with a full delivery which left-hander D'Arcy Short defends on the leg side but is beaten by the next delivery which is pitched right up and moves away.

The next two balls are defended before the left-hander attempts a wild shot but is beaten by the away going delivery.

He pulls the last ball to deep square leg for a single to get off the mark as Bhuvi concedes just one from the first over.

Jasprit Bumrah from the other end. Short blocks the first ball watchfully before he taps the next ball to midwicket for a single.

Aaron Finch clips the fourth ball through midwicket for two runs and then picks one off the next ball in the same region.

Check out the playing XIs of the two teams:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (w/k), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed.

Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), D'Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey (w/k), Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake

India captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to bowl against Australia in the T20I series opener.

Kohli is back to lead the team after missing the three-match T20I series against West Indies.

Kuldeep Yadav is the lone spinner as India go in with three pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed.

The batting line-up looks quite formidable as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan open the batting followed by Kohli at No. 3.

KL Rahul manages to retain his place despite an inconsistent run recently followed by Rishabh Pant at No. 5 and Dinesh Karthik playing the finisher's role at 6.

Krunal Pandya retains his place as the second spinner, while also being able to contribute with the bat.

Welcome to the coverage of the first T20 International between Australia and India in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The mess that Australian cricket has found itself in, both on and off the field, has made India firm favourites in the compelling rivalry's latest battle, which begins with a T20 International series at the Gabba in Brisbane.

In a bid to assert themselves as favourites for the Test series, which starts December 6 in Adelaide, India would like to dominate the three T20Is.

The touring side has won their previous seven T20I series dating back to November 2017, and their last defeat in the format was against West Indies in July last year.

Not to mention, on their last visit to Australia, the Men in Blue won the T20I series 3-0. So, they will be riding high on a wave of confidence and eager to make an early mark on this trip.

Australian cricket, in contrast, has been dogged by structural reform in the wake of the ball-tampering saga in South Africa in March and it has resulted in turbulence on the field as well.

On Tuesday, Cricket Australia ruled out reducing the bans of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in reply to a plea submission from the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA).

In the absence of Smith and Warner, Australia's results have fallen off a cliff.

Since the ban in March, the Aussies are yet to win a T20I series against an opposition of note.

India have already named their 12 for the first T20 International as captain Virat Kohli returns after being rested for the three-match home series against West Indies.

Manish Pandey has once again been sidelined as the selectors continue to repose their trust in out of form KL Rahul, who has been retained despite struggling for runs.

In England, captain Kohli batted at number four, allowing Rahul to bat at number three in light of his stupendous form in the 2018 Indian Premier League.

It will be interesting to see what position he bats at in this upcoming series.

Krunal Pandyas good showing against the Windies sees him make the cut and will play the all-rounder's role.

Among bowlers, Khaleel Ahmed keeps his place in the team and is third choice pacer along with strike bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.

India's 12 for first T20: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma. Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul. Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,  Japrit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal.