Photo Credit: ICC
India has secured their spot in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals, but Australia’s hopes hinge on Afghanistan’s result following a thrilling match in Saint Lucia on Monday.
Despite Rohit Sharma’s dazzling 92 runs, India set a formidable target of 206, which Australia fell short of by 24 runs. Travis Head’s valiant effort with 76 runs off 43 balls kept Australia’s hopes alive until he was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah in the 17th over, after which Australia’s chase lost momentum.
Arshdeep Singh’s 3/37, supported by Axar Patel (1/21) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/24), played crucial roles in restricting Australia after earlier onslaughts from Head. Afghanistan now holds the key to Australia’s fate, needing to defeat Bangladesh in their final Group 1 match to potentially oust the reigning champions of Test and Cricket World Cups.
Rohit Sharma’s explosive innings, featuring eight sixes and seven fours, propelled India to 205/5, with contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 16), Shivam Dube (28 off 22), and Hardik Pandya (27* off 17*). Josh Hazlewood was Australia’s standout bowler, finishing with figures of 1/14 and an impressive economy rate of 3.50.