India vs Australia 27th March, World T20 2016 Highlights: Virat Kohli does it again
India after having secured a back-to-back couple wins against its neighbours was up against the mighty Australians in a virtual quarter-final match in the ultimate Group B fixture here at the IS Bindra Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali.
Both the contenders had won two out of their previous three group stage matches after having succumbed to the Kiwis, who had been absolutely phenomenal in this tournament until now. However with a better run rate, the Aussies were above the host nation before they were set to battle it out for the coveted semi-final place.
As a full-house Mohali continued to cheer for the both set of players, the Australian skipper Steven Smith won the toss and decided to bat first on a considerably batting friendly wicket which saw the Australians put up a massive 193 on the board against Pakistan.
The Australians started their innings with a bang
The Kangaroos started their batting campaign brilliantly with Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch giving them a rock solid start. The Pakistani-Australian opener hit six boundaries in the 16 deliveries that he had faced. His 29-year-old partner, Aaron Finch wasn't keeping himself away from the party either.
The duo sky-rocketed Australia's total to 50 in just 4 overs at a run rate of above 10 runs per over. Chances were looking dim for the Indians until the veteran, Ashish Nehra provided the 'Men in Blue’ with a much-needed breakthrough.
Usman Khawaja's dismissal settled the Indian bowlers a bit as the Australian run-rate dipped from more than 10 runs per over to a respectable 8.
As Aaron Finch continued to exploit the Indian bowling from one end, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh scalped the prized wickets of David Warner and the captain, Steven Smith in quick succession to put the ‘Men in Yellow’ in a spot of bother.
The 29-year-old Australian opener along with Glenn Maxwell steadied the ship but the former went down at the last ball of the 13th over as a Jaspreet Bumrah slower delivery kissed the top of middle and leg stumps to reignite the hopes of 1.3 billion Indians all across the world.
Although the Kings XI Punjab man, Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson fought their hearts out, the brilliant bowling of the Indian bowlers, especially Ashish Nehra, Jaspreet Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh at the latter stage of the first innings restricted the Australians to a total of 160 runs- which was probably 10-15 runs below the par.
The Indian batting stuttered in the initial overs
The Indians started their run-chase quite confidently. Shikhar Dhawan- especially- looked to be in good touch after he dispatched a couple of deliveries for a four and a six before gifting his wicket to Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Rohit Sharma too was bowled by a cheeky Shane Watson delivery and soon India found itself stuttering at 37 for 2 after 5.5 overs. Suresh Raina also failed to stamp his authority over the Aussie bowling line-up as he departed after scoring a 10.
27-year-old Virat Kohli teamed up with the local boy, Yuvraj Singh to put another 45 runs on the board before an injured Yuvraj succumbed to a James Faulkner delivery courtesy a brilliant catch by Shane Watson.
The match was titled to Australia's favour after the end of the 14th over as India needed 67 runs off 36 deliveries.
But as they say; cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Virat Kohli proved the cricketing world once again why he is currently the number one batsman in the present cricketing fraternity. He along with the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni put India over the finishing line with five balls to spare.
The Delhi boy ended up scoring 82 runs off 51 balls thanks to nine boundaries and two massive sixes as MS Dhoni concluded the Indian run-chase with his signature last ball boundary, as India won the match by 6 wickets.