And so it is done. India are through to the semi-final, something which was under jeopardy just some days ago when Bangladesh required only 2 runs off the last 3 balls.
India’s comeback has been phenomenal. Even today against Australia, they did incredibly well to pull them back to 160 in 20 overs after being spanked all over the park for 53 runs in the first 4 overs.
Australia were a team in form after blowing both Bangladesh and Pakistan out of the park. They might have been whitewashed at home by India, but their recent endeavors showed signs of a revenge, but it turned out to be a false dawn.
One can certainly say that the memories of the India – Australia matches will not fade away, quite like the Axe Signature line of body perfumes.
Here are 5 memorable moments from the match:
Nehra’s breakthrough
When Ashish Nehra was called up to the squad, many made a mockery of the decision as he was apparently too washed up to play for India again. Right now, after a solid Asia Cup and World Cup T20 so far, those fans would be thankful that they don’t run the selection committee at BCCI.
Australia started off the game with all-guns-blazing as they smacked 54 runs after 4.1 overs. Australia looked all set to post a mammoth target, but then Ashish Nehra happened. The highly experienced bowler broke the partnership after he got the wicket of Usman Khawaja. From that moment on, Australia struggled and in the end, posted a target of 161 only 106 runs more in 95 balls bowled from that point.
Yuvraj Singh first ball wicket
Yograj Singh, Yuvraj Singh’s bitter father, just loves to hate MS Dhoni. When Yuvraj Singh was kept away from the team, the former Indian player constantly kept accusing the ODI and T20I captain of his son’s shunning.
Now, however, with Yuvraj in the team, one would have thought that Papa would keep quiet as he has no reason to spit fire towards Dhoni. But how wrong were they?
It seems as though Yograj Singh would find a reason to criticize Dhoni even if the latter donated all his money to charity. This time, he attacked Dhoni for not giving his son the ball. Dhoni responded by letting Yuvraj bowl today and, oh boy, he took a wicket with his very first ball—putting a grin on his face.
Maxwell’s reverse six
Glenn Maxwell might be one of the most inconsistent players in the world, but what can be said about him is that he has a very good knack of playing some extravagant shots.
One of the most fascinating ways to hit the ball is to reverse-sweep the ball across the boundary. As Ravindra Jadeja ran in to bowl to Glenn Maxwell, the latter had decided what he would do.
In somewhat of a premeditated attempt, the Australian used a combination of brute strength and class to perfectly stroke the ball for a six. He used his signature reverse sweep to send the ball into the crowd on the cover boundary, making it a moment that won’t fade away.
Yuvraj Singh’s warrior spirit
This is a man who beat cancer; that alone makes him a warrior. On top of that, he makes a comeback to the team and leaves a strong presence on the field.
Today, we once again saw his never-give-up attitude. As he jumped up to play a flick shot on the leg side, he landed awkwardly and twisted his ankle in a wicked way. After that, he was struggling to even walk— but he didn’t bow out of the pitch retired hurt.
The physio taped his ankle and he kept playing till he got out after scoring a handy 21 runs in 18 balls. In the meantime, one could see the discomfort while he was running, but he still kept pushing.
Virat Kohli the Thor
Many are labelling him Superman after today’s performance. Well, we just take a different route and say that he played like a mighty God today—like Thor.
As Thor wields his hammer, it produces a lightning that strikes the enemy to leave them rotting on the ground. Virat’s bat did something similar today as he put in a man of the match performance scoring 82 runs off just 52 balls.
At one point, the match was titled in Australia’s favour and it seemed that it would go down to the last ball. However, scoring 34 runs in his last 11 balls, he made sure that Indian fans didn’t have to be nervous come last over.
Truly, a God-like performance.
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