IND v AUS: Australia’s semi-final hopes diminish with loss to India

ST LUCIA: Australia’s hopes to advance to the semi-final took a major hit after they were defeated by India in their Super 8 fixture in the T20 World Cup 2024. on Monday.

Chasing a target of 206, Australia’s lower batting order collapsed and fell short 24 runs to claim a victory in their must-win game at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet in St Lucia.

With this win, India have confirmed a place in the semi-final of the ongoing edition.

David Warner opened the inning with Travis Head and was quick to return to the pavilion as he was caught in the slip in the first over. He scored six runs taking as many balls.

Skipper Mitchell Marsh then joined Head and took on the chase. The two added 81 runs to the total before Marsh was dismissed on the last ball of the ninth over. He scored 37 off 28 deliveries as Australia were 87 for two in nine overs.

Glenn Maxwell then arrived at the crease while Head held the other end, however, the right-handed batter could not score big and fell after scoring 19 off 12 deliveries on the first delivery of 14th over.

His wicket triggered a collapse in the middle as Marcus Stoinis was dismissed after scoring only two runs off four balls, leaving Australia at 135 for four in 14.1 overs.

Head was the next to fall as Jasprit Bumrah sent him packing in the 17th over after a fighting knock of 76 off 43 balls.

Matthew Wade also failed to finish the game for Australia and was dismissed for one run.

Australia were restricted to 181 for seven in their 20 overs.

For India, Arshdeep Singh took three wickets while conceding 37 runs in his four overs and Kuldeep Yadav finished with 24-2 in his four overs.

Batting first, Rohit Sharma’s fiery 92 off 41 balls powered India to post 205 runs against Australia in their Super 8 fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first in their crucial Super 8 game against India in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in the second over of the inning that brought Rishabh Pant to the crease to join Rohit Sharma.

Following Kohli’s departure, the Indian skipper went on the offensive and smashed the Australian bowlers all around the park.

Pant was dismissed on the last delivery of the eighth over after scoring 15 off 14 deliveries as India’s total was 93.

Suryakumar Yadav then joined Rohit Sharma who continued his assault on the Australian bowler. He fell eight run short of his ton and was bowled out by Mitchell Starc in the 12th over of the inning.

The Indian skipper’s 41-ball 92 was laced with eight sixes and seven fours.

Yadav also contributed 31 off 16 balls to help India set a big total on the board.

Shivam Dube scored 28 off 22 deliveries while Hardik Pandya was unbeaten on 27 off 17 balls to take India to 205 for five in their 20 overs.

At the toss, Australia’s skipper Mitchell Marsh said that the pitch looked belter and that he would love to chase.

“It looks like a belter of a wicket. There is a bit of breeze around and the surface looks lovely,” said Marsh.

“We found ourselves in this position a few times, backs to the walls. At this stage of the tournament, every game’s a must-win, pressure comes with that,” he added.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma said that he would have bowled first too but remained confident in his team’s ability.

“It looks good, hope it doesn’t change too much. We have adapted well to conditions, so hopefully, another game where we can do that,” said Sharma.

Australia Playing XI: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood.

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.

Rohit Sharma-led India currently lead the Group 1 standings with four points in two matches and a net run-rate of +2.425.

While Australia have two points in their two games, they are still in the race for the semi-finals as they sit on the second spot of their group owing to a better run-rate than Afghanistan.

They were stunned by Afghanistan in their Super 8 fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 on June 22.