Melbourne, February 1:

Australia crushed India by nine wickets in front of a huge crowd in the Twenty20 international here on Friday.

Opting to bat, India managed just 74, their lowest score in Twenty20 cricket and just one higher than the lowest ever in an international. In reply, Australia cruised to victory in 11.2 overs, notching their first win in three Twenty20 matches against last year’s inaugural World Cup winners.

In his final Twenty20 game for Australia, retiring wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist (25) received a huge ovation when he came out to bat and again when he departed as the only man out. Australian captain Michael Clarke, deputising for an injured Ricky Ponting, finished on 37, with Brad Hodge on 10.

It was only India’s second loss in 10 matches in the newest form of the game and their score was just one better than Kenya’s 73 against New Zealand last year. Only Irfan Pathan, the last man to fall on 26, ensured they passed Kenya and he was the only Indian batsman to reach double figures.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted it was a disastrous performance, but was confident his side would bounce back before Sunday’s opening match of the triangular one-day series against Australia.

Man-of-the-match Clarke couldn’t have asked for more from his team, especially his bowlers.

“What a fantastic performance,” he said. “The guys really looked forward to tonight and we were up for the game. The bowlers executed the plans really well.”