World T20: Kohli scripts masterclass to propel India to semis

Brief Scores: Australia 160/6 in 20/20 overs (Finch 43(34), Maxwell 31(28), Pandya 2/36) lost to India 161/4 in 19.1/20 overs (Kohli 82*(51), Yuvraj 21(18), Watson 2/23) by six wickets

Virat Kohli arrived next and got off the mark with an outrageous flick for a four through midwicket before guiding one to the third-man boundary to take back-to-back boundaries off Hazlewood. But, India received the second blow just before the end of the powerplay as Rohit Sharma continued the routine of following his opening partner to the dressing room, this time jumping out to a straight ball from Watson to get clean bowled.

With the run rate slowly creeping above the 10-run mark, Kohli and Yuvraj went for big shots in an attempt to catch up with the run rate. Although Yuvraj connected one to send Zampa for a six, he fell in the next over to Faulkner. The left-armer’s slow ball outfoxed Yuvraj, and Watson took a brilliant catch to pocket the lob at extra cover.

Needing 67 in the last six overs, India needed a big innings from either Kohli or Dhoni to get over the ropes, and the duo kept alive India’s hopes by stealing twos and singles. Kohli brought up his fifty in the 17th over, but the Aussies kept the pressure mounting with Watson delivering tight overs.

That moment when Virat Kohli hits a massive 6 to help drive #IND into #WT20 Semi-Finals #INDvAUShttps://t.co/r1AyS5XwWk

— ICC (@ICC) March 27, 2016

Earlier, Steve Smith won the toss and opted to make use of the wicket, with the pitch expected to slow down later in the match. Both teams decided not to make any changes for the virtual knock-out game and went into the game with their tried and tested XIs.

In front of a capacity crowd at the PCA stadium, Nehra ran in to deliver the opening ball, and Usman Khawaja dismissed it to the square leg boundary. Nehra bounced back with the perfect response by delivering five dot balls, but Bumrah from the other end was not as fortunate as his predecessor and suffered the brunt of the left-hander conceding four boundaries, a feat Bumrah achieved in the previous match against another left-hander – Tamim Iqbal.

The wicket worked to India’s advantage as the run-flow dried up, and it led to another wicket as Warner jumped out of the crease for a big shot, only to see Ashwin’s ball spinning away from him to Dhoni’s gloves. The ball was precariously perched on Dhoni's gloves, but he somehow managed to hold on and whip off the bails. In the tenth over, Dhoni opted for some left-arm spin from Yuvraj, and the all-rounder delivered with his first ball, justifying his father’s rant removing the Aussies skipper. Smith walked back shaking his head after the umpire gave him out for a caught behind off Yuvraj.

However, Finch kept one end secured and took the team past hundred in the 13th over. But his attempt to hit Pandya for back-to-back boundaries led to his downfall in the last ball of the 13th over as the ball flew straight to Dhawan at deep midwicket. On the other end, Maxwell started slowly before upping the ante in the 16th over by slog sweeping Jadeja for a four before producing a stunning reverse pull over the cover boundary for a six. But, once again a wicket came at the right time for India as Bumrah outfoxed Maxwell with a slow ball to just nick the outside of the off-stump. In the last three overs, Australia added 28 runs to put 160/6 on the board, with 15 of them coming in the last over of Hardik Pandya. Peter Nevill scored a four and a six off the last two balls to give the Aussies the momentum before the second innings.