St Lucia: Rohit Sharma’s explosive innings, combined with a stellar bowling performance by Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, propelled India to a 24-run victory over Australia in their Super 8 clash in the T20 World Cup match at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
With this crucial victory, India has secured the top position in Group A and confirmed their spot in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue will now prepare to face England in the upcoming semi-final clash.
Meanwhile, Australia’s path to the semi-finals remains uncertain as they have won only one match so far. Afghanistan’s upcoming match against Bangladesh holds the key; if Afghanistan defeats Bangladesh, they will secure a spot in the semi-finals. Alternatively, a strong win for Bangladesh could also put them in contention for a semi-final berth.
Australia began their chase with an early setback as Warner was dismissed in the first over. However, Head and Marsh took control, with Marsh surviving two chances despite a scratchy start.
Head continued his impressive form against India in ICC events, hitting powerful shots and putting India under pressure. Marsh’s dismissal, caught brilliantly by Axar Patel in the deep, shifted the momentum.
Maxwell’s brief scare was quelled as Australia faltered, losing wickets rapidly. Head remained resilient but India’s bowlers tightened their grip, conceding only 28 runs between overs 12 to 17. Ultimately, India clinched victory by 24 runs, successfully defending their total.
Earlier in the first innings, in a brilliant display of power hitting, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma smashed his way to 92 runs, propelling India to a formidable total of 205 against Australia.
After Virat Kohli’s early dismissal for a duck, Sharma took charge, targeting Mitchell Starc with ruthless efficiency. Starc’s overly full deliveries were punished with two sixes over covers and another over mid-wicket, yielding 29 runs in a single over. Sharma’s assault continued against Pat Cummins, reaching his half-century in just 19 balls, setting the tone for India’s aggressive approach.
Despite Sharma’s heroics, Australia’s bowlers managed to claw back into the game following his dismissal. Josh Hazlewood was particularly economical, conceding only 10 runs in his three powerplay overs, helping to restrict India to 60/1 after the first six overs. Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis then provided crucial breakthroughs, with Stoinis dismissing Rishabh Pant, who had welcomed Zampa with a six. Even as Suryakumar Yadav and Sharma continued the assault, Starc’s brilliant in swinging yorker ended Sharma’s innings at 92, allowing Australia to regain some control.
After Suryakumar Yadav’s quick 32-run cameo ended, Australia’s bowlers, led by Hazlewood, Zampa, and Cummins, tightened their grip with a series of economical overs. However, Pandya broke the shackles by hitting two massive sixes off Marcus Stoinis, helping India cross the 200-run mark. Pandya’s aggressive batting in the death overs boosted India’s total to 206/5, setting a challenging target for the Australian side.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma at the toss said, “We would have fielded first as well, looks a bit sticky. We wanted to chase. We know what exactly we are doing, will try to do our best. I hope it doesn’t change much. The overhead conditions also matter in this part of the world. We have adapted well, hopefully another game where we put up a show. Every game matters in this tournament, nothing changes. We are playing the same team.”
After winning the toss Australian skipper said, “We are going to bowl first. Looks a belter, it looks lovely. It’s a quarte final, looking forward to it, big challenge against India. We have had ourselves in this situation before, every game is a must-win now. We got an experienced group, a great staff. Starc comes in for Agar.”
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh(c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
