India advance, D(h)o(w)ning the Aussies

India made just change to their playing eleven – Yusuf Pathan made way for Virender Sehwag. Australia made eight changes to the eleven that last played the Indians – Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, James Hopes, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Starc and Clint McKay made way for Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Ricky Ponting (who was leading the side), David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krezja and Shaun Tait.

Ponting, chose to bat on winning the toss. Watson, who faced 38 balls, scored 25. His innings included five boundaries. Ten overs into the match, Ravichandran Ashwin broke the 40-run stand.

Haddin faced 62 balls, scoring 53. His innings included six boundaries and a six. Seventy-seven balls later, he was caught by Suresh Raina. Yuvraj Singh, the player of the match, broke the 70-run stand.

Michael Clarke, who faced 19 balls, scored eight. Forty-seven balls later, he was caught Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj broke the 30-run stand. Michael Hussey, who faced nine balls, scored three. Seventeen balls later, Khan broke the 10-run stand. Cameron White, who faced 22 balls, scored a dozen. Forty-seven balls, he was caught by Khan, who broke the 40-run stand.

Ponting, who faced 118 balls, scored 104. His innings included seven boundaries and a six. Forty-three balls later, he was caught by Khan. Ashwin broke the 65-run stand. David, who faced 26 balls, scored 38. His innings included three boundaries and a six. He was unbeaten, as was Johnson, who scored six off as many balls.

India conceded 11 extras. Australia faced 260 for the loss of six wickets off 50 overs. Virat Kohli bowled an over, conceding six. He was wicketless, as was Sachin Tendulkar, who bowled a couple of overs, conceding nine.

Munaf Patel, who bowled seven overs, conceding 44. He was wicketless, as was Harbhajan Singh, who bowled 10 overs, conceding 50. Khan, Ashwin and Yuvraj bowled 10 overs apiece, conceding 53, 52 and 44, respectively. They picked up a couple of scalps each.

Sehwag, who faced 22 balls, scored 15. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Forty-nine balls into the chase, he was caught by Michael Hussey. Watson broke the 44-run stand. Tendulkar, who faced 68 balls, scored 53. His innings included seven boundaries. Ten overs later, he was caught by Haddin. Shaun Tait broke the 50-run stand.

Kohli faced 33 balls, scoring 24. His innings included a boundary. Sixty-two balls later, he was caught by Clarke. David broke the 49-run stand. The fourth-wicket pair put on 25. Gautam Gambhir, who faced 64 balls, scored 50. His innings included a couple of boundaries. Twenty-nine balls later, White and David ran him out.

Although his innings included a boundary, Mahendra Singh, the Indian skipper, who faced eight balls, wasn’t in seventh heaven. Thirty-one balls later, he was caught by Clarke. Brett Lee broke the (Dho)nineteen-run stand.

Yuvraj, who faced 65 balls, scored 57. His innings included eight boundaries. He was unbeaten, as was Raina, who faced 28 balls, scoring 34. His innings included a couple of boundaries and a six.

Australia conceded 21 extras. The Indians, who scored 261 for the loss of five wickets off 47.4 overs, won by five wickets with 14 balls to spare. Clarke bowled three wicketless overs, conceding 19.

Johnson bowled eight overs, conceding 41. He was wicketless, as was Krejza, who bowled nine overs, conceding 45. David, who bowled five overs, conceded 19. He picked up a scalp.

Tait and Watson bowled seven overs apiece, conceding 52 and 37, respectively. They picked up a wicket each. Lee bowled 8.4 overs, including a maiden. He conceded 45 and picked up a scalp.

The Indians advanced to the semi-finals.