 "India captain Rohit Sharma smashed seven fours and eight sixes during his knock of 92 off 41 balls during the T20 World Cup Super 8 match against Australia in St Lucia. AP")
Rohit Sharma led from the front with an explosive knock as India marched into the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup in style with a 27-run victory over Australia in Gros Islet, St Lucia on Monday.
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Rohit smashed 92 off just 41 balls to help India post a daunting 205/5 after Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh opted to field.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/37) and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (2/24) then led with the ball in hand to help India restrict Australia to 181/7 in reply.
While the Men in Blue storm into the semi-finals unbeaten, winning all three Super 8 matches in style and facing England in Guyana on Thursday in a rematch of the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, Australia find themselves on the brink of an exit and face the prospect of missing out on the T20 World Cup semis for the second consecutive edition.
Monday’s result at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet has led to an interesting situation in Group 1. While South Africa and England progressed into the semis from Group 2, India’s qualification for the knockouts is the only thing that’s confirmed from Group 1 at the moment.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAustralia, thus, aren’t officially knocked out just yet and can still reach the semis. They will be knocked out if Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh in the final Super 8 clash on Monday (early Tuesday morning in India) regardless of margin, or even if the match ends in a washout.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, will join India in the semis if they defeat the Afghans by 61 or more runs or chase down the target with seven or more overs to spare. Anything less, and the Aussies are through.
Rohit’s 92 outshines Head’s 76
Staring at an early exit from the competition, Australia showed their familiar fighting spirit in the run chase via skipper Marsh (37 off 28), who was back among the runs, and India’s nemesis Head (76 off 43), who played a blinder in the ODI World Cup final last year.
The highlight of the 86-run partnership between Head and Marsh was their exemplary ball-striking ability.
While Marsh enthralled with short-arm pulls into the stands, Head targeted the straight boundary. The southpaw smoked Hardik Pandya for a flat six down the ground, reminiscent of his ruthlessness in Ahmedabad on the ill-fated night of 19 November.
Amid the high-quality hitting from Marsh and Head, Kuldeep’s bowling stood out. One of his wickets, though, was purely down to the brilliance of Axar Patel who took a one-handed stunner on the jump at deep square leg to send back Marsh.
With 65 needed off 30 balls and Head in the middle, the match hung in balance before MVP Jasprit Bumrah returned to remove the opener with a slower ball and Australia could not press on thereafter.
Earlier, on the best batting surface of the tournament, Australia put India in to bat and Rohit made the most of the conditions with a sublime knock comprising seven fours and eights sixes including a recording-extending 200th in the format.
It was the start of something special when Rohit flicked Mitchell Starc for four in the first over of the game.
Virat Kohli (0) at the other end mistimed a pull off Josh Hazlewood in the following over to be caught in the deep.
Walking the talk once again, Rohit never took the foot off the pedal and went hammer and tongs against Starc, whose second over yielded as many as 29 runs, his most expensive in the format.
The first two sixes in the over came via delightful aerial drives over extra cover before he smashed one in the cow corner region.
The fourth maximum of the over came through a mishit that went all the way behind the stumps.
Rohit did the bulk of the damage in his 87-run stand with number three Rishabh Pant (15 off 14), who welcomed leg-spinner Adam Zampa into the attack with a six over long-on. Australia’s trump card went wicket-less.
Another memorable shot of Rohit’s innings was the down-on-one-knee six over deep mid-wicket off Pat Cummins in the latter’s opening over.
Credit must go to India for not allowing any bowler to settle into a rhythm. Rohit brought up his fifty at end of the fifth over with a single and that was also the fastest of the tournament.
Rohit unleashed a six over extra cover when Marcus Stoinis came into the attack in the eighth over.
Such was the authority of Rohit’s innings that he could select his spot against all the bowlers of repute.
It could have been a well-deserved 100 but Starc came back to remove the India skipper with a yorker.
Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 15), Hardik Pandya (27 not out off 17) and Shivam Dube (28 off 22) also played their part but India could not make the most of the last five overs, scoring only 43 runs for the loss of one wicket.
Even as his colleagues leaked runs, Hazlewood seemed to be bowling on a different pitch, conceding only 14 runs while taking one wicket in his four overs.
Brief Scores:
India 205/5 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 92, Suryakumar Yadav 31; Mitchell Starc 2/45, Josh Hazlewood 1/14) defeated Australia 181/7 in 20 overs (Travis Head 76, Mitchell Marsh 37; Arshdeep Singh 3/37, Kuldeep Yadav 2/24) by 24 runs.
_With PTI inputs
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