Kohli takes India to semis

Unbeaten 82 from Virat Kohli took India to the semis where they'll meet West Indies after they defeated Australia by six wickets in a tense Super Ten match of ICC WT20 2016 at Mohali tonight.

The fifth wicket stand of 67 between Kohli and MS Dhoni took India home with five balls to spare and kept the Aussie bowlers at bay.

Yuvraj chipped in with 21 while Dhoni made 18.

For Australia the match went out of their control late in the innings when their bowlers allowed the Indian batters to hit some vital boundaries.

Watson was the most successful bowler for Australia with two wickets for 23 runs.

Unbeaten 82 from Virat Kohli took India to the semis after they defeated Australia by six wickets in a tense Super Ten match of ICC WT20 2016 at Mohali.

Watson dealt India a massive blow in the 8th over. He got his second wicket of the game when his short ball was gloved to the keeper by Suresh Raina.

Raina didn’t need to play at that delivery and perished after making 10 runs from seven balls.

India found themselves in deep trouble…

Watson gave Australia their second breakthrough in the sixth over and sent back the in-form Rohit Sharma with a fine cutter.

Rohit came down the track too early, the ball gripped, avoided the bat and crashed onto the middle stump. Indian opener made 12 from 17.

Australia broke India’s first wicket stand inside four overs when a short, sharp ball from Coulter-Nile did the job.

Dhawan went for the hook, but the ball got too big on him and the top edge was safely pouched by Usman at short fine-leg.

Earlier, Australia managed to post 160 for 6 after 20 overs against India in the crucial Super Ten clash of ICC WT20 2016 at Mohali under the lights.

Useful contributions from the lower order after a blistering start enabled Aussies to reach their total. Finch was the highest scorer for his team with 43 from 34.

Maxwell chipped in with 32 while Khwaja made 26 in quick time.

India’s Pandya took two wickets for 36. Nehra, Bumrah, Ashwin and Yuvraj picked up a wicket each.

Australia lost their sixth wicket in the last when Faulkner was dismissed by Pandya for ten runs.

Australia managed to post 160 for 6 after 20 overs against India in the crucial Super Ten clash of ICC WT20 2016 at Mohali under the lights.

Bumrah came back in the 17th over and dented Australia’s dream of a massive total. He sent back the dangerous Maxwell after the Aussie batter smashed 31 from 28 balls.

Maxwell entertained the Mohali crowd with a four and a reverse-swept six, but needed to stay till the end for his side’s cause.

Big wicket for Bumrah!

Pandya gave India their fourth breakthrough in the 13th over and sent back the belligerent Finch against the run of play.

Finch made 43 from 34 with three fours and two sixes before he was holed out at deep midwicket.

India fight back with wickets…

Aussies were rocked after India came back into the match with important breakthroughs.

Yuvraj got Australia skipper Smith with his first ball when the batsman was given caught behind by the umpire in the tenth over.

Smith stayed back and wafted at the ball. There seemed to be an edge and Dhoni went up rightaway, but Smith looked unhappy, left the field after scoring only two runs.

Australia lost their second wicket in the 8th over when Ashwin got the better of Warner. Warner didn’t need to go for glory, but still came down the track, missed the turning ball and was easily stumped by Dhoni.

Warner didn’t look comfortable at the middle, and managed to score six runs from nine balls.

India got their first breakthrough in the fifth over and the seasoned campaigner Ashish Nehra delivered the goods.

Nehra troubled Khwaja with his outswingers, and got one full, swinging away. The Aussie opener went really hard at it, lost his shape and edged it to Dhoni.

Usman Khwaja was responsible for the fireworks early, and scored 26 from 16 balls with six fours to his name.

Aussie opener Usman Khwaja came out to bat like a man possessed and smashed anything pitched short or wide with utter disdain.

Aaron Finch joined in the act and took the attack to the Indian spinners, especially Ashwin. He smoked the bowler for some towering sixes at the feather bed at Mohali.

Australia captain Steven Smith won the toss and decided to bat first given the conditions at Mohali against India led by MS Dhoni in the crucial Super Ten clash of ICC WT20 2016.

Neither team's journey to this stage has been a fluent one. Australia have wrestled with their batting order and finding the right men for the right spots had been a big concern.

It had affected their rotation of strike in the middle overs. But that was rectified thanks to Steven Smith in their last game.

MS Dhoni's men have not struggled with their eleven as much as they fought for rhythm. They were on a roll prior to the World T20 but the loss against New Zealand in the first game did rattle them.

Two out of the three men who had played key roles before the tournament have failed to find their touch so far.

The last time India played at home to Australia in a world event was the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup, when MS Dhoni's men triumphed in Ahmedabad.

They went on to win that tournament at home, one of the greatest moments in Indian cricket. If they are to repeat that success in the World T20, they must first get through this quasi quarter-final.

India

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah

Australia

Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith(c), Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill(w), Adam Zampa, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood

The official coin of ICC World T20 2016 at India used for the toss. Photo: ICC