India cruise into World Cup semi-finals, Australia on the brink of exit

By Sports Desk June 24, 2024

India booked their place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals with an impressive 24-run victory over Australia on Monday.

Rohit Sharma was the star, hitting an excellent 92 off 41 balls to set India on their way to the win, with defeat leaving Australia in a precarious position.

Virat Kohli was out for a duck after being caught off Josh Hazlewood early on (2-14), but Sharma took control, getting his half-century off just 19 balls.

He was eventually bowled out by Mitchell Starc (2-45), but the damage was already done, as Suryakumar Yadav (31), Shivam Dube (28) and Hardik Pandya (27no) helped India to 205-5.

Australia started their innings strongly though, as Travis Head hit 76, but he was caught by Sharma after Axal Patel pulled off an incredible one-handed catch to dismiss Mitchell Marsh for 37.

The chase stalled somewhat after that, with Arshdeep Singh getting two late wickets to finish on 3-37, limiting Australia to just 181-7.

India will face England in the semi-finals, but defeat for Australia means they will be out of the tournament if Afghanistan beat Bangladesh. They could also miss out on net run rate if the result is flipped and Bangladesh get a big enough victory.

Data Debrief: Sharma on top

Sharma's knock of 92 included seven fours and eight sixes, and it means that he leapfrogs to the top of the charts.

He is now the top scorer for India in T20Is with 4165 runs, going past Virat Kohli's 4103, and is also the top-scorer in T20Is overall, moving above Babar Azam's tally of 4145.

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