InD(hon)ia’s campaign ends; Australia advance

India made no changes to their playing eleven. Australia made three changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh and Xavier Doherty made way for Steven Smith, Michael Clarke (who was leading the team) and Mitchell Johnson.

Clarke won the toss and chose to bat. Although his innings included a boundary and a six, David Warner, who scored 12, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Nineteen balls into the match, he was caught by Virat Kohli. Umesh Yadav broke the 15-run stand.

Smith, the player of the match, faced 93 balls, scoring 105. His innings included 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes. Thirty-one overs later, he was caught by Rohit Sharma. Yadav broke the 182-run stand.

Glenn Maxwell, who faced 14 balls, scored 23. His (Ashw)innings included three boundaries and a six. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Ajinkya Rahane. Ravichandran broke the 35-run stand.

Aaron Finch, who faced 116 balls, scored 81. His innings included seven boundaries and a six. Five balls later, he was caught by Shikhar Dhawan. Yadav broke the one-run stand. Clarke, who faced 12 balls, scored 10. His innings included a boundary. Twenty-three balls later, he was caught by Rohit. Mohit Sharma broke the 15-run stand.

James Faulkner scored 21 off 12 balls. His innings included three boundaries and a six. Twenty-six balls later, Yadav broke the 36-run stand. Shane Watson, who faced 30 balls, scored 28. His innings included a couple of boundaries and a six. Eight balls later, he was caught by Rahane. Mohit broke the 14-run stand.

Brad was in seventh heaven, because his run-a-ball (Hadd)innings included a boundary. He was unbeaten, as was Johnson, who faced nine balls, scoring 27. His innings included four boundaries and a six.

India conceded 14 extras. Australia scored 328 for the loss of seven wickets off 50 overs. Kohli wasn’t in seventh heaven, because he bowled a wicketless over. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja bowled 10 wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 68, the latter conceded 56. 

Ashwin, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 42. He picked up a wicket. Mohit, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 75. He picked up a couple of wickets. Yadav, who bowled nine overs, conceded 72. He picked up four scalps.

Dhawan, who faced 41 balls, scored 45. His innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six. Seventy-seven balls into the chase, he was caught by Maxwell. Josh Hazlewood broke the 76-run stand.

Kohli, who faced 13 balls, scored a run. Sixteen balls later, he was caught by Haddin. Johnson broke the two-run stand. Rohit Sharma, who faced 48 balls, scored 34. His innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes. Fifteen balls later, Johnson broke the 13-run stand.

Although his innings included a maiden, Suresh Raina, who faced 11 balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Five overs later, he was caught by Haddin. Faulkner broke the 17-run stand. Rahane, who faced 68 balls, scored 44. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Eighty balls later, he was caught by Haddin. Mitchell Starc broke the 70-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair put on 30. Jadeja, who faced 16 balls, scored 17. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Thirty-three balls later, Smith ran him out. The seventh-wicket stand was worth 23. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s skipper, scored 65 off as many balls. His innings included three boundaries and a couple of sixes. Sixteen balls later, Maxwell ran him out.

Ashwin, who faced 13 balls, scored five. Faulkner had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he broke the one-run stand. Shami, who faced a ball, scored a run. He was unbeaten. Mohit, who faced a ball, didn’t open his account. A ball after Ashwin’s dismissal, he was dismissed by Faulkner. Yadav, who faced five balls, failed to get off the mark. Six balls later, Starc broke the one-run stand.

Australia conceded 15 extras. India, who were dismissed for 233 off 46.5 overs, lost by 95 runs. Watson, who bowled four overs, conceded 29. He was wicketless, as was Maxwell, who bowled five overs, conceding 18.

Hazlewood bowled 10 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 41 and picked up a wicket. Starc, who bowled 8.5 overs, conceded 28. He picked up two wickets. Johnson, who bowled 10 overs, conceded 50. He picked up a couple of wickets. Faulkner bowled nine overs, including a maiden. He conceded 59, and picked up three scalps.

India’s fairytale run at the 2015 World Cup came to an end. Australia advanced to the final.