Aus vs Ind highlights - Rohit masterclass takes India to semi-finals

Rohit Sharma is the reason India are in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. He was sublime. But then again he has been for a long time, simply with his commitment to an attacking game at personal cost. It deserves credit but until now it's come in intangible form. Perhaps in five days' time, it will take the shape of an ICC trophy.

On a sunny morning in St Lucia, India's captain scored 76 of his 92 runs in boundaries and left Australia with nowhere to hide. He even prompted them into mistakes. A total of 205 built on a series of broken records proved too much. It even offered insulation against Travis Head and that, in recent times, has been so rare it's almost unheard of. Australia may yet make the final four, but they need Bangladesh to do them a favour and beat Afghanistan in St Vincent later on Monday.

Bumrah strikes. India can sense it now. Special ball to take out a player who absolutely mauls everything by doing little more than clearing that front leg.

Here, that advantage turns on him and Bumrah makes it so. His slower ball dips at the last minute. It also grips into the surface. Head, now that he's moved to the leg side, is too far from it to hit it properly. He realises that and panics. He swings the bat blindly, hoping to make some sort of contact, and that almost always results in a hit across the line.

You don't do that to Bumrah because he doesn't have a fast-bowler's slower ball. He has an offspinner's quicker ball. The dip and turn gets the leading edge and in a bit of symmetry from Nov 19, Rohit takes the catch. Head took the Rohit catch in the ODI World Cup final.

H-u-u-u-u-uge moment in the game.

Maxwell is deceived by the googly. He was charging out to hit over the leg side. But the ball comes through a lot slower than he's ready for. Dips at the perfect time. Turns properly too. And wrecks his stumps.

Incredible bowling when India were under severe pressure. That wicket has halved Australia's chances of victory. It's dropped from 50% to 27%

Axar strikes from the other end to have Marcus Stoinis caught on the reverse sweep.

Jadeja comes on in the 11th over. The wind is going from left to right. If Maxi wants to harness it, he needs to hit against the turn. But he's Maxi. And he doesn't need any help hitting spin.

He sees that there are no fielders behind square on the off side and goes reverse sweep. Twice. Earlier this year, in the IPL, he felt like he was out of sorts and he sat himself down. Now in Australia colours, as he's often done before, he's looking a gamechanger again.

With him at the crease, the advantage that spin brings to India is almost negated.

He's doing it again. Once again, no one has an answer to the way he clears that front leg and opens up both sides of the wicket. Australia need 107 off the last 60 balls and they still have the Man of the Match from their title-winning campaigns in the WTC and the ODI World Cup out there on 54 off 26.

Marsh gone! Every single India fielder has raced to deep square leg to crowd Axar Patel. Behind him, past the rope, a support staff member was running for cover. This slog sweep was hit SO HARD. Makes you wonder if Marsh has a bat in his hand or a WMD.

Axar is a few yards off the rope. And it's flying over his head. On instinct he sticks his hands up. With a little luck, this time the ball stays in the hand. And the force of the shot makes the fielder fall splat on his back. So much power. But it's all useless now.

Marsh provided two catching chances on 0 and 5 - Pant tripping over himself as he chased after one and Arshdeep stunned by a powerful drive coming back at him.

Head skews one off the bottom of the bat on 39, but the mis-hit travels just far enough wide of Rohit running to his right from cover.

Hardik Pandya's slower balls aren't gripping as he would like. Kuldeep Yadav's wristspin isn't creating as much uncertainty as he would like. The pitch actually looks really good for run-scoring now. This game's totally on.

ESPNcricinfo Forecaster has Australia pulling this chase off at 42% and that's risen from somewhere in the 10s at the start of the chase. They've outscored India in the powerplay, 65 for 1 vs 60 for 1.

Runs in the powerplay are absolutely vital and Mitchell Marsh, much like Rohit Sharma did earlier, has decided an early wicket is no reason to pull back. The wicket-taker Arshdeep is taken apart

And then Travis Head slaps Jasprit Bumrah around. The fact the first two of these boundaries came off the lengths Bumrah likes to bowl - just short of good - means he has to do something different - go full, go yorker - and that produces an error of its own - a full toss for four through point. Australia are off an running now.

One of the greats of the game might just have walked off for the last time. Australia have had David Warner at the top of the order and simply because of that have stepped onto the field as favourites in many a cricket match. So much force coming at the bowler. So much intent. So much aggression. Australia even asked him to go overboard sometimes because they saw what it was doing for them, how it unsettled oppositions and increased his output. Sandpaper-gate made that side of things grind to a halt. But still Warner continued to find a new way to threaten, accumulating his runs. Today called for something more brash. Something vintage. That didn't happen. Warner fell flirting with a ball outside his off stump, completely done by Arshdeep Singh's away swing. Tame end. Incredible player. Australia under the pump.

Rohit Sharma was fabulous today, hitting Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in an over, scoring 76 of his 92 in boundaries, reaching 50 off 19 when the other end had contributed only 2 off 13. This game was all about him.

Rohit at the crease
Six of 11 overs went for double-digits.

Rohit back in the hut
Only two of the next six overs went for double-digits

Australia recovered well after dismissing the India captain in the 12th over. Hazlewood was stupendous with 1 for 13 from four overs. Starc came back strong. But that isn't exactly good news for them because it shows the longer the innings wears on, the more difficult it is to keep the tempo up. Australia will be batting on a pitch that is wearing and they have to make perfect use of the powerplay if they are to stand a chance of getting to this target and staying alive in the T20 World Cup.

His success is a direct consequence of the lengths he's hit today. Rarely went full because he knew that was inviting trouble. Preferred to hit the deck, change his pace on the odd occasion, and always - always - cramp the batter and deny him his arms.

First over had a few full tosses that he got away with

Second over was Rohit deciding to go.

Returned with India 114 for 2 after 10 overs and took out Rohit for 92

Ends his spell with Suryakumar's wicket

Starc who took a beating in the powerplay has taken a second wicket. It's the offbreak again. This one is into the wicket and not only does it grip, it kicks up more than the batter expects. Surya, on top of having to reach way wide outsideoff, is surprised by the extra bounce and top-edges through to the keeper. That's a real good comeback from the Australian spearhead, though he's had to bowl very unlike himself to succeed.

Okay, the control that Australia were hoping to have hasn't come about.

Shivam Dube, who had come under scrutiny earlier in the tournament, when conditions were too tough for his six-hitting game, is proving his worth here on a pitch that is much better for batting.

He launched Adam Zampa into the wind - which is forecast to hit a high of 30mph - and still cleared the ground comfortably. This is why India rejigged their XI to fit him in. His power. His X-factor.

Suryakumar Yadav from the other end is doing Suryakumar Yadav things, once taking a Pat Cummins ball that was closer to the wide line than it was to the stumps and giving it a home by the square leg boundary. That's not 360 degree hitting. That's straight up nonsense. You should not be able to treat a bowler of that quality with that much disdain. But its hardly the first time, is it?

Starc yorks the rampaging India captain for 92 off 41.

A change in angle, bowling round the wicket, and going offbreak has done the trick.

Australia will heave a huge sigh of relief now. They'll be able to control the game better.

Rohit was hitting everything. Earlier at least the short of a length delivery was proving effective. He began hitting them too. Now with newer batters at the crease, the game changes.

Rohit was 50 when India were 52.
The lowest total when a batter has brought up half-century in T20Is, where ball-by-ball data is available.

19 balls
For Rohit's fifty, his fastest in all T20s

8.4 overs
For India's hundred, their fastest in T20 World Cups.

200+ sixes
For Rohit, the most by anybody in T20Is

8 sixes
For Rohit in this game, the most by an Indian in an innings in the T20 World Cup

Australia are trying to take pace off to stop Rohit. But that's not working either. Adam Zampa's arrival helped Rishabh Pant find his feet. Marcus Stoinis does not have the tools to cope with Rohit in this mood. India are going at two runs per ball after eight overs. ESPNcricinfo forecaster has them reaching 234 if they keep this up.

But there is some respite. Pant tries to do what his captain's been doing, hit everything out of the ground, but for some reason, if your name isn't Rohit Sharma, it's not happening for you today.

His last 14 balls have included five sixes and three fours. That's pushed him to his fastest fifty in all T20s, and he's played a fair bit of this format. Meanwhile, Kohli+Pant at the other end are 2 off 13. Means Rohit has contributed 50 of India's 52 runs, which is a T20I record. The lowest team score when a batter's made a half-century where ball-by-ball data is available.

It's been clear that Australia have not adjusted to what's been in front of them, bowling in Rohit's arc even as he kept smashing them. That table above shows that even he has not been as prolific when the length has been pulled back. Josh Hazlewood actually almost had him dragging back onto his stumps once.

But immediately after that blow, it starts raining. Will this stop mess with Rohit's rhythm? He seemed to be the one of the worst affected by that loss in the ODI World Cup final. Today, he's come out and given them no place to hide.

See what's happened after the wicket. Rohit has taken to Starc and then some.

There hasn't been any swing on offer. Starc keeps searching for it because he has one job and that is it. That plays into Rohit's hands. Each of those big hits were to a ball that is pitched up and all the batter had to do was wait in his crease and hit through the line and with the angle over cover. A couple were bashed across the line too, suggesting once again the bowler should've adjusted his tactics. Hazlewood, for example, has been unhittable because his length has been shorter.

On November 19, 2023, it was Travis Head running back to take a very difficult catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma early. On June 24, 2024, it is Tim David running back to take a very difficult catch to dismiss Virat Kohli early.

Australia are notorious for targeting the best player in the opposition, believing taking them out would be half the match done. This India team is a little different. Most of their firepower is in the middle order.

Nevertheless, getting rid of Kohli in a big game for 0 off 5 is no small thing. Hazlewood bowled two on a very Hazlewood length lulling the batter into thinking he was going to keep targeting that 4-6m area. But no. Out comes the short ball and Kohli is rushed on his pull shot. Goes straight up.

Australia left out a spinner for a fast bowler for this game and are sticking to that strength in the powerplay. A lot of teams have tried to take pace off against Rohit and Kohli early on to try and restrict their boundary-scoring opportunities. But Australia are content packing the off side and trusting Starc and Hazlewood to hold a good line and length. Even so, we might see Glenn Maxwell coming in at some point.

Mitchell Marsh says he's looking at a belter. Adds that it's basically a quarter-final as well (at least for them). He believes their experience playing backs-to-the-wall cricket in World Cup matches will put them in good stead. Mitchell Starc back in for Ashton Agar. Here are the full playing XIs.

Rohit says he would've wanted to field too. It looks a little sticky at this point, he says, although not sure if he's talking about the pitch or something else because 10 seconds later he is asked specifically about the pitch and responds it looks really good. Same team and he puts a premium on them adapting to the challenges in front of them.

The pitch is the same one used for the England vs South Africa game where 163 was defended. So even when fresh, it wasn't exactly high-scoring. The boundaries are even, approx 60-70m around the park.

The weather's a lot cooler, perhaps even enough to suggest a bit of swing in the air, which Mitchell Starc is eminently placed to exploit. He's been marking his run-up alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. The cross-winds are forever a factor. Here's Matt Roller pinging in from the ground: My good friends at 'windy.app' reckon winds between 17.8-22.3mph today with gusts up to 31.2mph. That's about 50% higher than in England vs South Africa