India’s captain Rohit Sharma came in clutch in an important clash against Australia on Monday. At the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Sharma showed his true colours as he went hell for leather, belting the Australian bowling line up enroute 92 off 49 balls.
Sharma, who opened the batting with Virat Kohli, saw his partner being dismissed for a five-ball duck. Notwithstanding the pressure of losing Kohli, the highest run getter in all T20 World Cups, Sharma hit Mitchell Stark for four sixes and one four in a single over. India ended up with 205 runs for the loss of five wickets. In reply, Australia could only manage 181 runs for the loss of seven wickets.
The Men in Blue, asked to bat first, tonked 15 sixes, led by Sharma’s eight. Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya carried on the momentum with scores of 31, 28, and 27 runs, respectively.
Though Australia lost David Warner quickly in the chase, ICC World Cup hero Travis Head threatened to spoil the party once again. However, Head’s valiant 76 off 43 balls wasn’t enough to topple India’s score.
Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers, taking three wickets. He was ably supported by Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. The left arm spinner picked up two wickets while giving away just 24 runs in four overs.
India will now play England in the semis on June 27. Australia, on the other hand, will have to wait for the results from the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match. A win for Bangladesh is likely to go in favour of the Aussies. However, if Rashid Khan and his men carry on the winning momentum, they’ll book a semis berth alongside India from the group.