India pocket win over Australia in a high-octane Super Eight fixture to seal T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final berth

India redeemed themselves in emphatic fashion as they braved Australia in a high-octane Super Eight battle to sail hammer and tongs into the semi-finals. St. Lucia stayed witness to some extraordinary cricket as two powerhouses of the sport matched each other ounce for ounce before the Men in Blue delivered the coup de grace.

Winning the toss, Australia opted to bowl first. India had a major hiccup early on as Virat Kohli fell without opening his account against his former RCB teammate, Josh Hazlewood. Rohit Sharma who looked good in the first over took over the reins and was joined by Rishabh Pant in the center.

What followed suit was a trip to rampage town and the Indian skipper was the helmsman of the juggernaut. Sharma parked the bowlers into every single nook and cranny of the ground as extraordinary cricket shots did galore. Pant was happy to play second fiddle whenever he was on strike.

The duo piled up 87 runs for the second wicket from 38 balls before Marcus Stoinis removed Pant for 15. The fall of Pant did very little to dampen the Indian spirits as an incoming Suryakumar Yadav was in no mood to relent either.

Rohit and SKY continued the hard-hitting brilliance before Mitchell Starc would finally get the Indian captain dismissed for an insane 41-ball-92. Shivam Dube was up next and the wheels were back in motion. Despite the fall of SKY for a breezy 16-ball-31, Hardik Pandya carried his form from the last game against Bangladesh and rocked Australia in the dying overs.

India piled up 205/5 as Pandya stayed unbeaten again for a 17-ball-27 while Dube and Ravindra Jadeja’s combined cameo propelled India to the joint-highest total scored against Australia in the history of the T20 World Cup. The earlier one came way back in 2012 when West Indies pulled off a similar stunt.

In order to qualify for the semis without depending on the consequence of the match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Australia needed to win this contest within 15.3 overs. However, if they failed to do so then India would have been guaranteed a spot if they were defeated in the end.

Arshdeep Singh drew first blood for the Men in Blue as he forced David Warner to miscue his drive and SKY grabbed a sharp catch in the slip cordon. Australia, however, weren’t daunted by the early fall of Dave and fought harder with renewed spirits as the hero of the 2023 World Cup final, Travis Head led the charge again.

Head (76) and Mitchell Marsh (37) were the key architects of the early fear instilled in the Indian fans. However, the introduction of Kuldeep Yadav changed the narrative. While the duo went strongly for the second wicket, Kuldeep’s lofted delivery into Marsh’s slot saw the latter hacking away with all his power. However, a sensational catch in the deep by Axar Patel silenced Australia as their skipper fell.

That didn’t really draw the curtains on the Aussie retaliation as Glenn Maxwell (20) continued to smash the Indian bowlers alongside Head’s radiant innings. It was Kuldeep Yadav once again who managed to tempt Maxi to come down the track and skidded one off the surface as India claimed their third wicket.

Not long after, Marcus Stoinis followed the footsteps of the Show as Axar Patel bested him in a duel of aggression. Head’s prolonged residence in the center eventually hit a dead end as Jasprit Bumrah unraveled him with a slower one. Head’s 43-ball-76 was the highlight of the Australia innings.

With the semi-final spot guaranteed already, Team India went all guns blazing and the remainder of the game was simply a formality for the Aussies. They were restricted within 181/7 at the end of 20 overs. India booked their semi-final berth with a 24-run-win over the Aussies while Rohit Sharma won the Player of the Match award for his incredible knock up front.