In a thrilling encounter at the Beausejour Stadium, India triumphed over Australia in the T20 World Cup match, securing their place in the semi-finals. Indian captain Rohit Sharma delivered a standout performance, scoring a blazing 92 off 41 balls, a knock that included 7 fours and 8 sixes.
Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first, hoping to leverage early conditions. However, India’s batting lineup, led by Rohit Sharma, capitalized on the opportunity to post a formidable total of 205 for 5 in their 20 overs. Despite losing the toss, Sharma’s aggressive strategy paid off handsomely.
In India’s innings, while Sharma anchored the performance, other players also contributed to the team’s total. Virat Kohli faced disappointment with his second duck of the tournament, but contributions came from Rishabh Pant (15 off 14 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 16 balls), and Shivam Dube (28 off 22 balls). Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten, scoring 27 and 9 runs respectively, adding crucial runs in the final overs.
Australia responded with determination but fell short, ending their innings at 181 for 7. Travis Head shone for Australia with an impressive 76 off 43 balls, including 9 fours and 4 sixes. Despite his efforts, support from other batsmen like David Warner (6), Mitchell Marsh (37 off 28 balls), and Glenn Maxwell (20 off 12 balls) wasn’t enough to chase down the target.
Indian bowlers performed admirably to defend their total. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3 wickets. Jasprit Bumrah took the crucial wicket of Travis Head, while Kuldeep Yadav added 2 wickets, and Axar Patel chipped in with 1 wicket.
After the match, Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed his thoughts on the game and strategy. “I thought right from over number one, there was a strong breeze blowing across. They (Australia) changed their plan, bowling against the breeze, so I realised I had to open up the off side as well. You’ve got to factor in the breeze and understand that the bowlers are smart as well and open up all sides of the field. When you keep an open mind and not just think of one shot, you can access all areas of the field.”
Reflecting on the match conditions, Sharma said, “200 is obviously a good score, but when you’re playing on grounds like this where wind is a factor, anything is possible. But I thought we used the conditions very well. It was very pleasing to see how we were getting through those overs and getting the wickets at the same time.”
Looking ahead to the semi-finals, Sharma emphasized the importance of consistency. “We don’t want to do anything different (in the knockouts). We want to play the same way, understand what the individuals need to do in a given situation, and play freely. So far we’ve been doing that consistently, and semifinals, we have to try and do the same thing. It’ll be nice (to play England in the semifinal). Nothing changes for us, we want to focus on what we can do as a team, and take the game on.”
Australia’s captain acknowledged India’s superior performance, stating, “It’s disappointing. Still technically a chance to go through, and today India got the better of us. I think over the course of 40 overs there’s a lot of small margins, but honestly, India were the better team. We’ve seen for 15 years what Rohit Sharma can do in that kind of mood, and he got off to an absolute flier. In a run chase like that, you’re in it if you can keep it at tens (10 runs per over) for as long as possible, but India were too good for us.”
(With inputs from PTI)
