That’s it from us tonight! Do join us on Thursday when India take on England in the semi-final.
India secure their spot in the semi-finals and have all but ended Australia’s tournament. The Aussies need Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan but not by a huge margin to sneak in. However, Afghanistan are favourites at the moment to join India, England and South Africa in the last-four.
Rohit Sharma now speaks as the winning captain!
[On beating Australia] It is quite satisfying, especially when you play like that. We know the opposition and the threat that they bring with them as well, you know. But I thought overall, as a team we played well. We kept doing the things that we are supposed to do and that we know the best. And, yeah, we can take a lot of confidence from a game like that.
[Was 200 enough?] 200 obviously is a good score, but when you're playing on a ground like this where wind is such a big factor, anything is possible. But I thought we use the conditions again really well. When you play in grounds like this, you got to understand what you need to do as individuals, let alone the team. But I think whichever individual comes into the party, they need to do their job. And we've spoken a lot about how we want to do things, and I thought it was very pleasing to see how we were getting through those overs and getting the wickets at the same time as well.
[On Kuldeep Yadav] We understand the strength that he has, but you got to use it when it's necessary. And I thought when we were playing in New York, it was quite a seamer friendly pitches. We wanted an extra seamer there. Unfortunately, he had to miss out. But we know that he had a big role to play when we move forward. And he's come here, done the job for us in the last two games. We understand what he brings to us. Again, that's what I want. That's what I'm looking for from the team, everyone trying to come and play their role and do it perfectly.
[On the team conversations] We don't want to do anything different. We want to play the same way that we've been playing, understand what individual needs to do at certain point in time of the game and then play freely that is what we want to do. Not try to think too much about what's lying ahead for us, what opposition we play and things like that. It's important that we play our cricket and we play our cricket well and that's the focus, that's what we want to do and, yeah, so far we've been doing that consistently. In the semi finals, we've got to try and do the same things.
Rohit Sharma is the Player of the Match for his match-winning knock! He speaks to Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation.
Sharma: [On his knock] That's what I have to do at the top of the order, you know, try and see what the bowlers are trying to do and play accordingly. I thought right from over number one, there was a strong breeze blowing across, but they changed their plan trying to bowl against the breeze. So I had to open up the other side of the field as well. Like I said, we need to be smart when we play and that is something that I was backing myself to do good.
[On factoring in the breeze while batting] Well, absolutely. I think you got to factor it in at the same time, you got to understand bowlers are smart as well. They're going to not bowl into the breeze a lot. So you've got to open up all sides of the field, not just be one dimensional. And that is something that was going through my mind all through. I was thinking to hit ball everywhere possible. And when you keep an open mind and not think about just playing one shot, you can open and access all sides of the field. And that is something that I was trying to do right from the beginning.
[On choosing his shots] Look, it's been a good wicket and that is something you want to do as a batter. When you see the wickets are good, you want to try and back yourself to play those kind of shots. And I've been trying to do that for a few years now. I'm glad that it came off pretty well today.
[Was the 100 on his mind?] I told you in my last post match that fifties and 100 doesn't matter. I wanted to bat with the same tempo, you know, and carry on playing shorts wherever it is necessary. Try and put the bowlers under pressure. Let them think where to bowl and what to do. When you're set like that, you want to carry on and make big scores. Yes, but at the same time you want to let the bowlers also think where the next shot is coming. And that is something. I thought I managed to do that pretty well today. Trying to access all sides of the field and hitting not just in one area, but all sides of the field.
Australia 181/7 (20 overs): Hardik Pandya finishes things off! India are through to the semi-finals with a 24-run win over Australia! Rohit Sharma’s side continue their unbeaten run in the tournament and set up a semi-final clash against England in a repeat of the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final clash.
Australia 177/7 (19 overs): Bumrah comes to finish his quota and gives up 10 runs including a huge six by Pat Cummins over cow corner. Australia need 29 runs from the final over.
Australia 167/7 (18 overs): Two wickets in the over for Arshdeep! Tim David, after hitting Arshdeep for a big six down the ground, fails to deal with a knee-high full toss and ends up giving Jasprit Bumrah an easy catch! Australia need 39 runs from 12 balls.
Australia 153/6 (17.1 overs): Wickets in back to back overs for India! Matthew Wade looks to cut Arshdeep Singh but ends up slicing it too fine. Kuldeep Yadav at short third takes a superb diving catch forward! Australia need 53 runs in 17 balls!
Australia 153/5 (17 overs): WICKET! Jasprit Bumrah comes back in the attack and takes the big wicket of Travis Head! The Australian tried to give himself room on the onside but is outfoxed by a slower delivery and skies his shot. Rohit Sharma settles under the ball at cover and pouches it comfortably! Head departs for a 43-ball 76. Australia need 54 runs in 18 balls.
Australia 135/4 (14.1 overs): WICKET! Marcus Stoinis’ stint in the middle lasts just four deliveries! He opted for the reverse sweep but cannot get it as fine as Maxwell did and hits it straight at Pandya at point. The ball popped out of Pandya’s hands but he reacted quickly to grab it at the second chance.
Australia 135/3 (14 overs): Bowled ‘em! Maxwell walks down the ground but cannot read the googly as the ball crashes into middle and off! This has been a superb spell from Yadav! He gave away just 24 runs while picking up two key wickets. Australia need 71 runs from 36 balls.
Australia 125/2 (12 overs): Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack and is taken to the cleaners by Glenn Maxwell. Begins the over by bisecting point and short third with late cut for a four. Then takes the ridiculousness to the next level by reverse scooping Jadeja towards the same region for a six and a four. 17 runs from Jadeja’s first over! Yadav keeps it tight at the other end giving away three runs off the first five balls before Head smashes the ball over Pandya’s head at long off for a flat six. Australia need 81 runs from 48 balls.
Australia 99/2 (10 overs): Travis Head keeps on marching! Smashes Pandya for three boundaries and in the process brings up his half century in just 24 balls.
Australia 87/2 (9 overs): AXAR PATEL TAKES A SCREAMER! Mitch Marsh pulls Kuldeep Yadav and the ball look destined to go over the boundary only for Patel to jump and take a stunning one-handed catch! Yadav had built up the pressure in the over giving just four runs before Marsh went after him.
Australia 83/1 (8 overs): Just the single over for Axar Patel as Rohit brings on Kuldeep Yadav into the attack and the wrist spinner brings the Australian scoring to a halt giving away just four runs. Head makes up for it the next Pandya over. Hits a four straight down the ground and then slog sweeps the next delivery again over deep midwicket for a huge six. 14 runs off Pandya’s second over.
Australia 65/1 (6 overs): Rohit Sharma rings in the changes and brings on Axar Patel and Hardik Pandey to try and stem the flow of runs but is unsuccessful. With the deep square leg region vacant, Marsh brings out the sweep shot to hit a six and a four off Patel. Ends the over with a quick double at deep midwicket. Hardik Pandya comes on to bowl from the other end and is promptly smoked over his head for a six by Head. The Australian opener ends the over with a huge six over deep midwicket. Australia have recovered superbly from losing Warner early on and score 65 runs in the powerplay!
Australia 36/1 (4 overs): A couple of big overs for Australia! Pulls Arshdeep for a four on the leg side. He smacked the next delivery right back at Arshdeep but the Indian pacer cannot hold on to it. Marsh punishes him by smoking a boundary past point and ends the over with a huuuge six which sailed on to the roof of the stadium! Travis Head gets in on the act and smokes Bumrah for three boundaries. 14 runs given away by Singh and Bumrah each.
Australia 8/1 (2 overs): An excellent over from Jasprit Bumrah and he nearly snagged the wicket of Mitch Marsh! Banged it in short catching Marsh by surprise. Tried to pull it but could only glove it high. Rishabh Pant goes for it but stumbles and does not put in the dive. He swats the ball away on the bounce. Rohit Sharma is incensed with his wicketkeeper.
Australia 6/1 (1 over): A dream start for India! Arshdeep Singh strikes with the final ball of the first over! Gets one to swing away from David Warner and Suryakumar Yadav takes a good catch at first slip!
India vs Australia: Afghanistan will be happy now looking at that total from India. If Australia lose badly, even Bangladesh, who are yet to win a match in the Super 8 stage, are in with a shot of making it to the semi-final. David Warner and Travis Head come out to begin the Australian chase. Arshdeep Singh has the new ball for India.
Suryakumar Yadav speaks to the host broadcaster: It [Rohit Sharma’s knock] felt like a dream. He batted beautifully. Before coming here, we sat together, we talked about it, how we want to approach, what brand of cricket we want to play and he showed us the way.
[On the score] It's a good score, it's a good wicket. Looks like a good wicket. Hopefully there's something for the bowlers when we go in and we defend it.
[On India’s campaign so far] I think everyone knows their role really well, knows their responsibility, the way they have been batting and most importantly, we are playing this game.
India 205/5 (20 overs): India soar past the 200-run mark with Ravindra Jadeja hitting an 86m six over deep midwicket with some assistance from the wind. India end their innings at 205/5 and it was down to the superb start Rohit Sharma gave them.
India 194/5 (18.4 overs): Stoinis strikes! Dube digs out a yorker but finds David Warner at deep midwicket! Dube departs for a 22-ball 28.
India 194/4 (18.2 overs): After 21 balls without a boundary, India finally get one. Cummins banged one in short and Pandya slapped it over the cover fielder for a four. He begins Stoinis’ final over with two superb sixes. Smashes a wide delivery over cover and ends up performing a pirouette! Stonis bowls the second delivery full and Pandya clears his front foot before dispatching the ball over long off.
India 171/4 (17 overs): Hardik Pandya is dropped! After Hazlewood ended his spell with a four-run over, Zampa comes in and almost gets rid of both Pandya and Dube. Pandya top edges a length delivery only for Marsh to drop a sitter at backward point. In the next ball, Dube slices a short ball which falls just short of a diving Stoinis at backward point. A very good over from Zampa to end his spell. The last two overs yielded just nine runs.
India 159/4 (14.3 overs): Starc strikes again! Yadav began the over by piercing the gap between short third and backward point for a four. Starc responds with a wide slower delivery. Yadav had moved to the on side and so has to reach for the ball. He can only nick it behind and Wade completes the catch.
India 155/3 (14 overs): Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav keep the carnage going! Dube wallops Zampa over cow corner for a huge six as the pair score 11 runs in the over. In the next over, Dube slaps a wide yorker off Stonis down the ground before Yadav lofts him over long on for a six. 13 runs off the Stoinis over.
India 127/3 (11.2 overs): Yorked ‘em! Starc gets his revenge over Rohit and denies the Indian captain a deserved century. Came around the wicket and nailed the yorker perfectly. Rohit departs for 92 runs off 41 balls.
India 127/2 (11 overs): Cummins resumes the innings after drinks. Starts off by giving away just three runs off his first four balls. Suryakumar Yadav takes that personally and shows why he is Mr 360 version 2.0. Swivels and pulls a short ball towards the fine leg boundary and ends the over with a delightful six over cover.
India 114/2 (10 overs): Suryakumar Yadav brings up the 100 for India with a nice drive towards the backward point boundary. Harsha Bhogle on the commentary informs us that India have brought up the quickest team hundred in men’s T20 World Cup in 8.4 overs. Rohit continues his assault at the other end hitting Stoinis for two boundaries at fine leg.
India 93/2 (8 overs): A brutal welcome to Marcus Stonis by Rohit Sharma but the Australian strikes! Rohit begins the over by coming down the track and pulling the ball towards the deep midwicket boundary. Stoinis pulls the length short but Rohit goes back in the crease and pulls it over square leg for a six. Then follows it up coming down once again and smoking a six over cover. Stoinis ends the over on a high. Pant looks to play the ball on the on side but the ball takes the leading edge and flies high in the sky. Hazlewood takes a simple catch at long on.
India 76/1 (7 overs): Pant now gets going! Smashes the first four off Hazlewood’s bowling today with a nice pull down the ground. He then welcomes Adam Zampa to the match by coming down the track to the wrist spinner and hitting him over the long on boundary. Rohit then sends the ball sailing over cow corner! A big over for India with 15 runs coming off it.
India 52/1 (5 overs): The break has not taken the fury out of Rohit Sharma’s attack! A delightful drive through backward point and beats the man on the rope! A ball later, he dances down the track and pulls hard. The ball comes off the edge and flies over the slip cordon and races away to the boundary. Rohit brings up his half century with a quick single. This has been a superb knock from the Indian skipper! 50 off just 20 balls!
India 43/1 (4.1 overs): An excellent over from Hazlewood following that expensive Starc over. Just the two runs off it. Marsh takes off Starc and introduces Pat Cummins in the attack. Rohit goes down on one knee and leathers the ball over midwicket and onto the roof of the net! And we have rain! Rohit sprints off the pitch as the ground staff sprint on it with their covers. Hopefully this is a short interruption. And guess what? It is a quick one! The sun has come out as quickly and it looks like the covers will be taken off as quickly as they had been put on.
India 35/1 (3 overs): Rohit goes Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Two absolutely brutal lofted cover drives for back-to-back sixes. He follows it up with a slightly miscued pull which clears the fielder at mid on for a four. Starc then bowls it right in the slot and Rohit launches it into orbit! Huge six over deep midwicket! Starc stems the bleeding with a good wide yorker. Tries it once again but bowls it past the wide line. Ends the over with a loose full toss and Rohit slices it over the the slip cordon for his fourth six of the over! 29 off that Starc over!
India 6/1 (1.4 overs): Kohli out for a duck! Virat Kohli’s poor run at the tournament continues as he is caught off guard by a Josh Hazlewood short delivery. He pulls but his shot is against the breeze. Tim David sprints backwards towards the deep midwicket boundary before completing a good running catch.
India 5/0 (1 over): A huge appeal from behind the wicket on the second ball! Starc bowled it right on the wide line and Rohit went fishing with Glenn Maxwell appealing after completing the catch. There was a sound Maxwell went up as did Matthew Wade. Starc wasn’t interested. The umpires go upstairs and the replays show that the ball bounced after coming off the edge. Sharma hits the first boundary by flicking the ball through the gap at midwicket. Five runs off the first over.
India 0/0 (0 over): Rohit will face the first ball with Virat at the other end. A headband sporting Starc has the new ball in his hand. And away we go!
India vs Australia: The match referee Jeff Crowe leads out umpires Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough followed by the Indian and Australian teams. Not a lot of crowd today considering how massive this match but understandable given that it is Monday morning in St Lucia. We’ll have the national anthems first before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli get the Indian innings underway.
Mitchell Marsh wins the toss for Australia and opts to bowl first!
Marsh: Looks like a belter. A bit of breeze around but the pitch looks lovely. It’s a quarter-final, it’s India but the boys are up for it. We have been in this position a few times recently. You get to this stage and every match is a must-win game. Mitchell Starc comes in for Ashton Agar.
Rohit Sharma: We would have fielded first as well. The pitch looks a sticky at the moment. Having batted first a couple of games, we would have liked to chase. The pitch looks good and I hope it doesn’t change too much as the match goes on.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup!
It’s the penultimate match of the Super 8 stage and it cannot be bigger than this. India take on Australia in a must-win match for the latter who were beaten by Afghanistan. Though Rohit Sharma and Co haven’t booked their spot in the semi-finals, they are in a very good position having four points and a healthy net run rate of 2.425.
The stakes are higher for Mitchell Marsh and Co, however. Australia and Afghanistan both have two points each but the former have a better net run rate of 0.223 compared to Afghanistan’s -0.650. Defeat today will likely end Australia’s tournament with Afghanistan being favourites to beat Bangladesh in the final Super 8 match tomorrow morning.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Australia: Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Screenshots via Disney+Hotstar