Australia on brink of exit after defeat by India

ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Super 8s Group 1, St Lucia

India 205-5 (20 overs): Rohit 92 (41)

Australia 181-7 (20 overs): Head 76 (43); Arshdeep 3-37

India won by 24 runs

Scorecard. Tables

Australia’s T20 World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread aft Rohit Sharma’s scintillating 92 led India to a 24-run triumph successful St Lucia.

India decorativeness apical of Super 8s Group 1 pinch a cleanable grounds and will look defending champions England successful nan semi-finals successful Guyana connected Thursday (15:30 BST).

Australia will spell retired if Afghanistan hit Bangladesh successful nan last group crippled (01:30 BST connected Tuesday), pinch South Africa waiting successful a semi-final successful Trinidad.

A triumph would person put Australia connected nan brink of nan past four, but they were overwhelmed by nan brilliance of Rohit, who clobbered 8 sixes and 7 fours successful 41 balls for 1 of nan all-time awesome knocks astatine a T20 World Cup.

After Australia won nan toss, India reached 3 figures wrong 9 overs and Rohit was bowled by Mitchell Starc successful nan 12th pinch nan people astatine 127-2. Australia really fought backmost good to limit India to 205-5.

David Warner, successful astir apt his past world innings, was caught astatine gaffe disconnected Arshdeep Singh successful nan first complete of nan Australia reply for six, earlier Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh took nan onslaught to India.

Their guidelines of 81, from 8 overs, was ended by Axar Patel's astonishing one-handed drawback connected nan heavy quadrate limb bound to disregard Marsh for 37.

Head continued, but boundaries dwindled and nan required complaint climbed. When Head miscued Jasprit Bumrah to Rohit for 76, nan crippled was up.

Australia lurched to 181-7 and are near hoping for a immense favour from Bangladesh successful bid to debar going out.

This was a sadistic show from Rohit, nan India skipper possibly fuelled by nan representation of conclusion astatine nan hands of Australia successful a location 50-over World Cup last past autumn.

He sewage up and moving successful nan 3rd complete pinch back-to-back sixes complete nan covers disconnected Mitchell Starc. With 2 much maximums successful nan aforesaid over, it costs a full of 29 runs.

Not helped by a beardown crosswind, nan mostly of Australia’s onslaught was decimated. Rohit added 87 from conscionable 38 balls for nan 2nd wicket pinch Rishabh Pant, whose publication was only 15.

Rohit was connected people to break Chris Gayle’s 47-ball grounds for nan fastest period successful a men’s T20 World Cup erstwhile Starc returned to compression a yorker underneath an attempted swipe complete nan limb side.

India’s momentum stalled arsenic Australia yet recovered immoderate composure. Given nan carnage, Josh Hazlewood returned singular figures of 1-14 from his 4 overs.

India recovered nan bound only 4 times successful nan last 5 overs, though that included 2 sixes from Hardik Pandya disconnected Marcus Stoinis successful nan 19th and different six by Ravindra Jadeja disconnected Pat Cummins successful nan 20th.

Still, acknowledgment to Rohit, India already had plenty.