Sydney: India's superb run in the World Cup came to an inglorious end when they surrendered meekly to Australia, losing by 95 runs in the semifinals here on Thursday with neither bowling nor batting clicking when it mattered the most. The tame surrender of the defending champions before the crowd of 45,000, many of whom had travelled all the way from India, came as an anti-climax to the team's outstanding performance which had seen them win seven consecutive matches in the tournament. Australia will now meet New Zealand in the final in Melbourne on Sunday. The four-time champions rode on Steve Smith's classy 105 to post an imposing 328/7 before bundling out India for 233 in 46.5 overs.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (65, 65 balls) stood tall amid a disappointing batting show as he waged a lone battle to take India past the 200-run mark and make a match of it despite the steep asking rate. At the top, Shikhar Dhawan was another notable performer with 45-run knock. The Indians had themselves to blame for the loss as the bowling unit, which had performed admirably till now, failed to deliver when it mattered the most while the batting also crumbled under pressure. The jubilant Aussies broke into wild celebrations after Mitchell Starc castled Umesh Yadav (0) to dismiss the last Indian batsman in the 47th over. Home captain Michael Clarke was composed though as he shook hands with the Indians and acknowledged the Aussie supporters, who had interestingly been outnumbered by Indian fans today.
Set a record run chase, the first 300-plus score in a World Cup semifinal, the Indians started off with a flourish with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma (34, 48 balls) adding 76 runs for the first wicket in 12.5 overs. But Dhawan's dismissal proved crucial as the runs dried up in the face of a determined effort by a fired up Australian pace battery. Mitchell Johnson (2/50), Mitchell Starc (2/28) and Josh Hazlewood (1/41) put the fancied Indian line-up under immense pressure as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Despite today's heartbreak, India put up a commendable effort in defending the title after a horror tour of Australia prior to the mega-event after which not many experts of the game had given the team a chance.
