Sydney, March 26: Close to the Sydney Cricket Ground here (SCG), flows the Parramatta river. India’s hopes of retaining the World Cup was washed away by the ebb and tide of the Parramatta as Australia defeated them by 95 runs in the semifinal here Thursday. It will now be a Trans-Tasmanian battle for the Cup between co-hosts New Zealand and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sunday. Australia were worthy winners. They batted India out of the match with a score of 328 for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs. The highlight of the innings was a 182-run second wicket partnership in 186 between centurion Steve Smith (105, 93b, 11×4, 2×6) and Aaron Finch (81,116b, 7×4, 1×6). It laid the platform for the assault later on and Australia got past the 325-run mark riding on a nine ball cameo by Mitchell Johnson (27 n o, 4×4, 1×6).
They bowled and fielded brilliantly also. Both the Mitchells – Starc and Johnson worked up a tidy pace and never allowed the India batters to settle down. MS Dhoni (65, 65b, 3×4, 2×6) was the top scorer for India but there were not many notable contributions.
The game was all about firepower and history (Australia) against momentum and belief (India). India had beaten Australia only once at the SCG, that too way back in 2008, in nine meetings prior to this game. Their fate did not change this time also. And the firepower of the Aussies when they scored 104 runs in eight overs (five in power play and the 48th, 49th, 50th) simply dashed Indian hopes.PTI
