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Australia’s T20 World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after Rohit Sharma’s scintillating 92 led India to a 24-run win in St Lucia.
India finish top of Super 8s Group 1 with a perfect record and will face defending champions England in the semi-finals in Guyana on Thursday (15:30 BST).
Australia will go out if Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in the final group game (01:30 BST on Tuesday), or Bangladesh win and significantly boost their net run-rate, with South Africa waiting in the last four.
A win would have put Australia on the brink of the semis, but they were overwhelmed by the brilliance of Rohit, who clobbered eight sixes and seven fours in 41 balls for one of the all-time great knocks at a T20 World Cup.
After Australia won the toss, India reached three figures inside nine overs and Rohit was bowled by Mitchell Starc in the 12th with the score at 127-2. Australia actually fought back well to limit India to 205-5.
David Warner, in probably his last international innings, was caught at slip off Arshdeep Singh in the first over of the Australia reply for six, before Travis Head and captain Mitchell Marsh took the attack to India.
Their stand of 81, from eight overs, was ended by Axar Patel's astonishing one-handed catch on the deep square leg boundary to dismiss Marsh for 37.
Head continued, but boundaries dwindled and the required rate climbed. When Head miscued Jasprit Bumrah to Rohit for 76, the game was up.
Australia lurched to 181-7 and are left hoping for a huge favour from Bangladesh in order to avoid going out.
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Remarkable Rohit leads ominous India
This was a brutal display from Rohit, the India captain perhaps fuelled by the memory of defeat at the hands of Australia in a home 50-over World Cup final last autumn.
He got up and running in the third over with back-to-back sixes over the covers off Starc. With two more maximums in the same over, it cost a total of 29 runs.
Not helped by a strong crosswind, the majority of Australia’s attack was decimated. Rohit added 87 from just 38 balls for the second wicket with Rishabh Pant, whose contribution was only 15.
Rohit was on course to break Chris Gayle’s 47-ball record for the fastest century in a men’s T20 World Cup when Starc returned to squeeze a yorker underneath an attempted swipe over the leg side.
India’s momentum stalled as Australia finally found some composure. Given the carnage, Josh Hazlewood returned remarkable figures of 1-14 from his four overs.
India found the boundary only four times in the final five overs, though that included two sixes from Hardik Pandya off Marcus Stoinis in the 19th and another six by Ravindra Jadeja off Pat Cummins in the 20th.
Still, thanks to Rohit, India already had plenty.
Australia left on the brink
Going into the weekend, Australia were unbeaten at this World Cup and realistically only one win from the semi-finals. Two defeats in less than 48 hours, starting with a first loss of any kind to Afghanistan, has left them on the brink of going out.
Whether or not any team could have stopped the inspired Rohit is debatable, but Australia were quickly reduced to a rabble. Marsh persisted with Stoinis as the fifth bowler despite the all-rounder conceding 56 from his four overs, while all of Starc, Cummins and leg-spinner Adam Zampa went for more than 40.
When Marsh dropped a simple catch off Hardik late in the innings, it was symptomatic of a tournament where Australia’s catching has been awful.
Opener Warner’s 15-year Australia career ended with a push to slip, but the prolific Head, whose century in the 50-over World Cup final broke Indian hearts, threatened an encore.
With the left-hander muscling the ball through the leg side, Australia had momentum until Axar’s stunning intervention. Marsh heaved Kuldeep Yadav to deep square leg, where Axar thrust his right hand into the air and clung on to a spectacular catch.
Glenn Maxwell arrived to support Head with rubber-wristed reverse-sweeps, but India gradually tightened their grip. Left-arm spinner Axar conceded only three from the 13th over, then the magical Kuldeep deceived Maxwell with a googly to end with 2-24 from his four overs.
More than 14 an over was required when India recalled paceman Bumrah to the attack. In his desperation to the find the rope, Head was deceived by a slower ball and could only find Rohit at extra cover.
The game was up. Australia, whose own victory over Scotland earlier in the tournament stopped England from going out, have been left powerless while England plan for the last four.
'So disappointing' - reaction
India captain and player of the match Rohit Sharma: "That's what I have to do at the top of the order, see what the bowlers are trying to do and play accordingly.
"There was a strong breeze. They changed their plan, so I had to open up the other side of the field. We need to be smart, which I backed myself to do."
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh: "It's so disappointing. We know we still have a chance to make the semis but India got the better of us.
"Rohit Sharma is very hard to stop when he's in that mode. He deserves all the credit for that.
"Come on Bangladesh!"
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- India
- Australia
- Cricket
Published
14 May
