With Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 92 leading India to a 24-run victory in St Lucia, Australia’s hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup are in shambles.
India, which had a spotless record at the end of Super 8s Group 1, will play the reigning champions, England, in the semi-finals on Thursday in Guyana at 15:30 BST.
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Australia will be eliminated if Bangladesh wins and dramatically improves their net run-rate, or if Afghanistan defeats Bangladesh in the second group match on Tuesday at 01:30 BST.
South Africa will be waiting in the final four.
Australia could have advanced to the semifinals with a victory, but Rohit’s incredible stroke play—eight sixes and seven fours in 41 balls—overcame them, setting a record for the greatest T20 World Cup innings ever.
Australia won the toss, and after India reached three figures in nine overs, Mitchell Starc bowled Rohit in the twelfth over, with the score at 127-2.
In fact, Australia mounted a strong defense, limiting India to 205–5. In the opening over of Australia’s reply for six runs, David Warner—possibly in his final international innings—was caught at slip by Arshdeep Singh.
Mitchell Marsh, the captain, and Travis Head led the push into India.
Axar Patel dismissed Marsh for 37 with an incredible one-handed catch on the deep square leg boundary, ending their 81-run stand in eight overs.
Head went on, but limits shrank and the needed rate increased. The game was over when Head gave Rohit a misplayed Jasprit Bumrah for 76.
Australia collapsed to 181-7 and are now relying on Bangladesh to pull off a major favor in order to stay in the game.
Amazing Rohit is leading a foreboding India Rohit, the captain of India, put on a vicious show, maybe motivated by the recollection of losing to Australia in a home 50-over World Cup final the previous fall.
In the third over, he quickly got going, hitting back-to-back sixes over Starc’s covers. It cost 29 runs in total when there were two additional maximums in the same over.
A stiff crosswind did not help, and most of Australia’s attack was destroyed.
For the second wicket, Rohit and Rishabh Pant combined for 87 runs from just 38 balls, with Pant contributing a meager 15.
When Starc came back to squeak a yorker underneath an attempted swipe over the leg side, Rohit was on track to surpass Chris Gayle’s 47-ball record for the fastest century in a men’s T20 World Cup.
India’s progress stagnated as Australia at last regained composure. Josh Hazlewood recorded impressive figures of 1-14 from his four overs, considering the mayhem.
Despite two sixes from Hardik Pandya off Marcus Stoinis in the 19th over and another six from Ravindra Jadeja off Pat Cummins in the 20th, India only managed to reach the boundary four times in the last five overs.
Still, India had plenty already, thanks to Rohit.
Australia pulled out just in time Australia was undefeated in this World Cup going into the weekend, and they were theoretically only one win away from the semifinals.
They are in danger of losing after suffering two losses in less than 48 hours, the first of which came from a loss to Afghanistan of any kind.
It’s arguable if any side could have stopped the inspirational Rohit, but Australia were reduced to a rabble very early.
Despite all-rounder Stoinis giving up 56 runs in four overs, Marsh continued to use him as the fifth bowler.
Meanwhile, all of Starc, Cummins, and leg-spinner Adam Zampa went for more than 40. Late in the innings, Marsh failed to make a straightforward catch off Hardik, which was indicative of Australia’s poor catching performance throughout the tournament.
Warner, the opener, lost his wicket after 15 years of play in Australia, but Head, who scored a century in the 50-over World Cup final that stunned the Indians, looked like he would return.
Up until Axar’s incredible intervention, Australia had momentum thanks to the left-hander pushing the ball through the leg side.
Marsh lifted Kuldeep Yadav to a deep square leg, where Axar made a fantastic catch with his right hand raised in the air.
With rubber-wristed reverse sweeps, Glenn Maxwell arrived to help Head, but India increasingly tightened their hold.
After conceding just three runs in the thirteenth over, left-arm spinner Axar was spectacular, tricking Maxwell with a googly to finish with 2-24 from his four overs.
It took India’s paceman Bumrah roughly 14 overs to return to the attack. Head was tricked by a slower ball in his effort to locate the rope, and he was only able to locate Rohit at further cover.
The match had ended. Australia, who had prevented England from losing the championship with their own win against Scotland, is now helpless as England prepares for the round of sixteen.
“So disappointing,” was the response Rohit Sharma, the captain of India and player of the match, said: “At the top of the order, I have to do what the bowlers are trying to do and play appropriately.
“A powerful breeze was present. I had to clear the other side of the field since they had rearranged their original plan. I pledged to be as intelligent as possible, and we must.”
Mitchell Marsh, captain of Australia: “It’s really disheartening. India defeated us, but we still have a chance to advance to the semifinals.
“When Rohit Sharma is in that zone, he is incredibly difficult to stop. All the praise for that should go to him.
“Come on Bangladesh!”