RAJKOT: Kuldeep Yadav bowled a game-changing 38th over to complement a KL Rahul blinder as India leveled the series with a comfortable 36-run victory over Australia in second ODI in Rajkot on Friday. Put into bat, India put up a much-improved batting performance with Rahul’s 52-ball-80 taking India to 340-6 after Shikhar Dhawan (96 off 90 balls) and skipper Virat Kohli (78 off 76 balls) laid the foundation. Australia were in the game as Steve Smith (98) carried the battle back tbut Kuldeep’s ninth over turned out to be a game-changer as he first dismissed Alex Carey and then had a delivery that bounced extra to have Smith played on. The visitors were all-out for 304 in 49.1 overs. Mohammed Shami (3-77 in 10 overs) and Navdeep Saini (2/62 in 10 overs) then bowled some exquisite yorkers to put an end to the contest. On a placid track, Smith, a proverbial thorn in India’s flesh was again proving to be dangerous along with Marnus Labuschagne (44) as they added 96 in quick time. Ravindra Jadeja (2-58 in 10 overs) steady spell and got rid of Labuschagne in nick of time to upset Smith’s rhythm after he had hit nine fours and a six off 102 balls. However this match also brings to fore Rahul’s emergence as proper keeper-batsman option for white-ball cricket as his extra runs coming in at No 5, proving to be valuable in the end. Earlier, it was Dhawan, who missed a well-deserved ton by a whisker but laid a solid platform for the aggressive duo of skipper Kohli and Rahul to ensure a commanding total. Back in form since the last T20 encounter against Sri Lanka, the senior opener looked solid in his 90-ball-96 while Kohli, back at his familiar one drop position, held the middle-order with a 78 off 76 balls and Rahul (80 off 52 balls) provided the final flourish in what was much improved batting performance from the hosts. While Dhawan added 81 for the opening stand with Rohit Sharma (42) who would regret this missed opportunity on a batting belter after getting set, the southpaw also had a vital 103-run stand with Kohli for the second wicket. The Kohli-Rahul duo’s 78-run partnership off 10.3 overs was also pivotal as it helped the latter to launch a final assault during the end overs. While Dhawan’s innings had 13 fours and a six, Kohli had six hits to the fence including a classic jab-flick off Pat Cummins. Rahul’s was a stand-out innings with six boundaries and three -maximums, one of which was a lofted cover drive off Mitchell Starc, who had a forgettable day. Adam Zampa (3/50 in 10 overs) was once again the stand-out performer taking Kohli out of equation for the seventh time in limited overs just when he was looking to get his 44th ODI ton. However, Dhawan missed out on his 18th ODI hundred by four runs when he pulled a Kane Richardson ball straight to fine leg in 29th over.