Mirpur: The Indians trampled the Australians, beating them by 73 runs, to clinch a mammoth win in the inconsequential match, just a couple of days after they sealed their semi-final spot in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Set with a decent, but not too difficult target of 160, the Aussies managed just 86. The Aussies’ batting card just crumbled under the clinical Indian bowling attack. They opened with Aaron Finch and David Warner, both of whom looked cautious for the first couple of overs. Ashwin drew first blood, when he claimed the scalp of Finch (6) in the fourth over. The next strike came in the very next over, with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowling a beauty to Cameron White, finished off with a beautiful piece of catching by Ravindra Jadeja. As White departed for a duck, the Australians were reduced to 21/2 in five overs.
Next up was Mohit Sharma in the Indian bowling attack, who sprung into action straightaway, claiming Shane Watson for 1. David Warner and Glenn Maxwell saw off the 7th over without any casualty, but Ashwin made the next over count, deceiving Warner, who walked back scoring 19. Ashwin picked up his next wicket in the 10th over in the form of Maxwell, who departed for 23, with Australia tottering at 56-5. George Bailey (8) fell to Ravindra Jadeja in the 11th over, Mishra alimed Haddin for 6 in the 14th over and Brad Hodge (13) fell in the 15th over to Mishra again, this time, the Aussies looking down in a ditch at 86/9 in 16 overs. A couple of deliveries later, the Indians completed the formality, with Ashwin hitting the final nail in the coffin, taking the wicket of Muirhead.
Earlier, as India began their face off against Australia in their inconsequential Group 2 match, Dhoni’s current state of affairs seemed to have rubbed off on the toss. Aussie skipper George Bailey won the toss and invited the Indians to bat first. India’s innings couldn’t have begun on a more disastrous note, as the Aussies’ surprise move of starting with Brad Hodge paid dividends in the form of India’s first casualty — Rohit Sharma —  who departed for 5.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane was joined by the in-form Virat Kohli, who looked on song. However, his momentum was short-lived, as he was done in by leg-spinner James Muirhead in the 7th over, walking back scoring 23 off 22 deliveries. The next man  in was Yuvraj Singh, who was all set to turn the tide in India’s favour. At the other end, was Rahane, who looked at anchoring the innings. However, two overs later, Rahane too took his long walk back, edging one off Doug Bollinger, departing in the 9th over for a hard-made 19 runs off 16 deliveries. Yuvraj was joined by Raina, who didn’t trouble the scorekeepers much. He was the next man to depart, this time, Maxwell getting his due. Yuvraj and Dhoni guided India to 147 in 18 overs, but soon enough, Dhoni fell prey to Mitchell Starc, scoring 24 off 20 balls.
The final over saw the fall of two Indian wickets — Yuvraj Singh post a blistering 60 off 61 balls and Jadeja scoring 3. India wrapped their innings at 159/7.
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