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Australia thrashed India convincingly by 95 runs to enter the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup final. They will now play co-hosts New Zealand on the 29th of March at the iconic MCG stadium. Steven Smith scored a 100 and was aided by useful contributions from Aaron Finch, and later on by the likes of James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson.India began well with the openers setting up a solid foundation but kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Captain MS Dhoni scored 62, but the others failed to deliver thus ending India’s campaign. Here are the reactions from Michael Clarke, Steven Smith and MS Dhoni after the game got over:
#1 Michael Clarke
'I feel really tired. Smithy was exceptional. Credit needs to go to all the players. Thanks to MS Dhoni and his team. They have played really well. I am pretty sure MS has got a lot of cricket left in him. The most pleasing things is the way we have trained.
On the final:
I still don't think we've played the perfect game yet, but we know it's going to be tough against New Zealand. I think we'll fly to Melbourne tomorrow. We'll recover in the afternoon. Mentally, we are there for the final, but physically we have to be ready. I am looking forward to playing against New Zealand. I hope we get a lot of support.'
#2 Steven Smith
‘We thought 330 was around par. We knew we had to bowl and field well and you know the boys did a terrific job tonight. Bring on Melbourne. It's nice to contribute to a few wins. It was a pretty big stage tonight, semi-final of a World Cup and just happy that we got over the line in the end. Yeah, absolutely. I always thank those people that have helped me along the way. It's very important to do that. I am just really happy with the way things are at the moment. I am just looking forward to Melbourne. It's going to be one hell of a day.
On urging for a review for Rahane’s dismissal:
‘Yeah, me and Maxi just thought sure he hit that, Pup (Clarke) went upstairs and it was a nick and another wicket for us (talking about Rahane's referral). It's possible (when asked if Haddin is going deaf with old age). No, it's fine, it was a thin edge and boys behind the stumps couldn't hear it. It was a nice one to get. I hope so. Hopefully, another big hundred would be nice (when asked if he has some runs in the bank for the final). It's going to be an amazing moment to play a World Cup final against New Zealand at the MCG. It's going to be absolutely amazing. Can't wait to get down there. That's right. New Zealand have played some very good cricket throughout this tournament. It's going to be nice to get them on our conditions at the MCG. Hopefully, we can put on a show for everyone that comes out down there.'
#3 MS Dhoni
'I think they (Australia) played very good cricket. Over 300 is a difficult score to chase, but I felt it was just above par. They were looking as if they will score 340 or maybe 350 but we came back quite well. But I felt we could have still bowled well. The reason being, in the afternoon, we got a bit of reverse swing going. I was a bit personally worried about the spinners without any foot marks on a fresh wicket, but their performance was good. I felt the fast bowlers could have done slightly better. But overall, we were quite happy with where we were. At the start of the tournament a lot of people didn't really think we would come so far in the tournament. But at the same time, when you come to the knockout stages, you have to lift your game.
On the run-chase:
We got off to a very good start. Shikhar's dismissal to some extent was really on the softer side because that was the time when he could have milked the Australian bowling line-up. He was scoring quite freely and with an open field, he should have just batted for a few more overs. He was scoring freely so he didn't really need to play a big shot. Overall, there is pressure when you are chasing 320 run. We have seen in cricket, pressure makes you do certain things that you don't really want to do. Naah! There was too many (when told that he left it too late in the chase). The reason being, if you lose quite a few wickets and if you are supposed to chase over 6 runs an over and also the fact that our lower-order, I don't think they can contribute as much in these conditions. So it makes it further difficult. 'But overall, I think it's a good exposure for them. Maybe next time when you are playing in other conditions, they'll know how to bat in these conditions and they'll do much better. So our lower-order really needs to work slightly hard on their batting, because most of the good teams, they bat quite deep and we have seen, especially in the knockout stages, you need to bat deep.
On his future:
I am not sure about it. I am 33, I'm still running, I'm still fit. I will have a year's time. Maybe close to next year during the T20 World Cup will be the time when I will decide whether I can continue till the 2019 World Cup or not.
On positives from the trip:
I think Ajinkya Rahane is one. Right through the Test series and ODI series, he's someone who's improved his game a lot. Also if you see the batting line-up, it seems like these are the players that will continue taking Indian cricket forward. I would like to thank the fans over here, the Australian and the Indian cricket team fans. At the end of the day, when you play cricket, you want people to come to the stadium and watch the game. We have been here for over four months. Thanks to the Aussie fans and the Indian fans, who were travelling all over from India, England and all the different places. It's a bit disappointing for them, but at the same time when you play a sport only one team can win.'
Credits to Cricbuzz for the post match quotes.
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