India, on Monday, beat Australia by 24 runs in their final Super 8 game to qualify for the semifinal of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Asked to bat first, India scored 205 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs thanks to captain Rohit Sharma’s whirlwind 92-run knock. In reply, Australia finished their innings on 181 for 7. Travis Head’s 76-run knock kept Australia in the hunt but he did not get good support from the other end.
India’s place in the semifinals was confirmed in the 16th over itself as Australia could not chase down the total by then. According to the conditions, Australia needed to chase down 206 runs in 15.3 overs to book their place in the semifinals.
However, they failed to cross the finishing line in the 16th over. As a result, India became the first team from Group 1 to enter the semifinal and join England and South Africa in the last four. Australia also kept their chances of making it to the semifinal alive by reaching 149 runs. Australia would have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup had they failed to reach 149 runs.
Australia’s fate now depends on the upcoming game between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. If Afghanistan manage to beat Bangladesh, they will become the fourth team to qualify for the semifinals. However, if Afghanistan lose the game, they and Australia will finish with the same number of points. In that case, their fate will be decided by net run rate.
India’s unbeaten run continues:
Meanwhile, the latest win has extended India’s unbeaten run in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. India and South Africa are now the only unbeaten team in the tournament. In the group stage, India won three of the four games while one of the games was abandoned due to a wet outfield.
The Men in Blue began their campaign with an 8-wicket win over Ireland before they beat Pakistan by six runs. In their third game, India beat the USA by 7 wickets to qualify for the Super 8. India’s last group game against Canada was abandoned.
In the Super 8, the Rohit Sharma-led side started its campaign with a thumping 47-run win over Afghanistan before thrashing Bangladesh by 50 runs. The win over Australia was India’s sixth straight win in the ongoing tournament.
