Tags: Australia vs India, Super 8 Group 1 at St Lucia, 24 June 2024
Posted on: June 25, 2024
Scorecard | Commentary | Graph
India reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with a 24-run win over Australia, thanks to captain Rohit Sharma’s explosive innings of 92. Rohit’s innings featured eight sixes and set the stage for a mammoth total of 205-5, India’s highest score in the tournament, at Gros Islet, St Lucia.
Australia responded with an aggressive 76 from Travis Head, but fell short as they finished the innings at 181-7. Despite Head’s efforts, the Indian bowlers pressed on and prevented Australia from reaching their target.
This match was crucial as Group 1 was set to be a very tight one after Afghanistan’s surprise win over Australia. Rohit Sharma’s aggressive display against the Australian bowlers and Mitchell Starc’s four sixes in one over were instrumental in setting up India for victory.
Key contributions from Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya further strengthened India’s total. Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah played a vital role with the ball, dismissing Australia’s leading batsmen early and controlling the flow of runs at crucial stages of the game.
Overall, India’s comprehensive performance has seen them remain undefeated throughout the tournament, securing their place in the semi-finals while Australia’s chances of qualification are in jeopardy.
Rohit Sharma, India captain: I am satisfied. We know the opposition and the threat they pose. We have done well as a team and continued to do what we have to do. It gives us a lot of confidence as a team. 200 is a good score but when you play here where the wind is a big factor, anything can happen. But we were in really good form and it was important for individuals to do their part. It was important to take wickets at the right time. (On Kuldeep) We know the strengths he has but we have to use him when we need to. In New York, we had a more friendly wicket. He missed but we knew he would play a big role here. (On the semifinal) We don’t want to do anything differently, we want to play the same way and understand what each individual has to do. Play freely and don’t think too much about what’s going to happen. Don’t think about the opposition. We have been doing that consistently and we just have to continue to do that. (On playing England in the semifinal) It will be a good game. Nothing will change for us as a team.
Mitch Marsh, Australia captain: It’s disappointing. That’s what happens in cricket. There are a lot of small differences in 40 overs. India were the better team, Rohit is a top-class player. (On Head and Maxwell’s batting) It gave us more belief than hope. If we can maintain 10 runs per over in that run chase, we can win the game. But the Indian bowlers were just too good in the end.
