A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
A look at Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL record over the years.
The visitors will have to play out of their skins to arrest the slide and level the series ahead of the last T20I in Hyderabad on October 13.
India needed 14 runs from the last over and Pandya delivered with sixes off the second and fourth deliveries
Australia will nonetheless be richer for their presence, and the duo's carefully orchestrated reunion with team mates has been smoothed by some cracking performances since their recovery from elbow injuries.
Ahead of the high-octane clash, here are some key players to look out for:
Pakistan players did not find any spot in ICC Team of the Decade across all formats
Gujarat Lions would be looking to get back to winning ways when they lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
India showed commendable character in Rajkot to level the series, proving that the panic buttons were pressed prematurely following the 10-wicket loss in Mumbai.
The Indian team management are 'not confused' about the composition of the World Cup squad despite their ODI series defeat against Australia as only one slot is up for grabs, said skipper Virat Kohli.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan admitted that India were completely outplayed by Australia and that it was the middle-order collapse that triggered the loss in the opening ODI at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The India skipper believes that Hardik Pandya can become a bankable player for the team in years to come.
RCB, led by their captain Virat Kohli, has always been a team full of stars but has not played to its potential. After reaching the final in 2016, it has had three forgettable seasons.
Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia thumped India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, on Wednesday.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
India turned in a fine all-round show to beat Australia by 27 runs in the second Twenty20 International and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Friday.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Kings XI Punjab beat Pune Warriors India by seven wickets on Sunday. Here are the statistical highlights from their Indian Premier League match played in Pune on Sunday.
Images from Friday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Abu Dhabi.
RCB's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson said the plan of the franchise in the auction was to look at players that will combine well with the retained squad.
What an over Umesh Yadav bowled!
Australia need five wickets in the second Test to secure a series-levelling victory with India's daunting run chase on a menacing pitch teetering at stumps on day four on Monday.
Images from Sunday's Indian Premier League between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, in Dubai.
Dhoni slammed an unbeaten 55 off 54 balls after Kohli laid the foundation for India's series-levelling six-wicket victory over Australia in the second ODI with a fluent century.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
Images from the 5th ODI between India and Australia, played in Nagpur on Sunday
India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old leg-spinner said watching Yuzvendra Chahal and Sundar bowl during RCB's thumping 82-run win over KKR a few days before helped him find the right length at the same small Sharjah ground.
Following is a fact file on the first Test match between Australia and India in Adelaide and how the teams have performed at the Adelaide Oval over the years:
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
India's ninth consecutive ODI win also ensured they are now the top ranked team both in Tests and the One-day format.
Our selection was wrong, says Aussie spin great Shane Warne.
Virat Kohli stepped down as India's 20-overs skipper and lost ODI captaincy too with Rohit Sharma taking over as their sole white-ball leader.
Chief selector MSK Prasad told reporters last month that most of the players in the current India side pick themselves and it was a matter of finalising a couple of slots before the World Cup in England and Wales.
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Shakib Al Hasan, on Monday, became the leading run-scorer in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility.
Lokesh Rahul has jumped nine places to reach a career-high third spot in the latest ICC T20 rankings
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