Two brilliant performances from Yuvraj Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin saw India through in their last Group 2 match of the ICC World Twenty20 against Australia by 73 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
Put in to bat, India were powered to 159/7 with Yuvraj's blistering knock of 60 from 43 deliveries. In reply, Australia were dismally bowled out for their second lowest ever Twenty20 International score of 86.
Off spinner Ashwin was the key as he clinched 4/11 in 3.2 overs, the best bowling figures by an Indian in the format.
India did not take off well as they lost wickets at regular intervals, including star batsman Virat Kohli (23).
The 2007 edition champions were reeling at 66/4 in the 12th over when Yuvraj and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (24) joined hands for an 84-run fifth-wicket partnership to take India well past the 150-mark.
Southpaw Yuvraj struck form after long, hitting five boundaries and four sixes in his innings with a strike rate of 139.53.
Australia used six bowlers and all managed to take a wicket each.
The men from Down Under never really threatened India anytime with their batting as they kept losing wickets right from the start. Only three of their batsman reached double figures with Glenn Maxwell top scoring with 23.
Medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the ball beautifully at the start and finished with figures of 1/7 from three overs. But it was man of the match Ashwin who really did the trick with only 14 of his deliveries.
Leg spinner Amit Mishra took two wickets while Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja had to be content with one apiece.
It is a rare occasion when all four consecutive man of the match awards in India's games have been given to spinners with Mishra picking up the first two while Ashwin clinching the latter two.
India now have won four consecutive matches on the trot to top Group 2 with eight points. They had already qualified for the semifinals after beating hosts Bangladesh Friday while Australia have been knocked out of the competition.
The Pakistan vs West Indies clash Tuesday will decide which team goes to the last four along with India from Group 2.
The following is the scoreboard of the ICC World Twenty20 Group 2 clash between India and Australia at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Sunday.
India
Rohit Sharma c Muirhead b Hodge 5
Ajinkya Rahane c Haddin b Bollinger 19
Virat Kohli c White b Muirhead 23
Yuvraj Singh c Maxwell b Watson 60
Suresh Raina c Finch b Maxwell 6
Mahendra Singh Dhoni b Starc 24
Ravindra Jadeja run out 3
Ravichandran Ashwin not out 2
Bhuvneshwar Kumar not out 0
Extras (lb 6, w 10, nb 1) 17
Total (seven wickets in 20 overs) 159
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Sharma, 0.4 overs), 2-46 (Kohli, 6.2), 3-53 (Rahane, 8.2), 4-66 (Raina, 11.3), 5-150 (Dhoni, 18.3), 6-152 (Yuvraj Singh, 19.1), 7-158 (Jadeja, 19.5)
Bowling
Brad Hodge 2-0-13-1
Glenn Maxwell 4-0-20-1
Mitchell Starc 4-0-36-1
Shane Watson 4-0-36-1
Doug Bollinger 4-0-24-1
James Muirhead 2-0-24-1
Australia
Aaron Finch c Kohli b Ashwin 6
David Warner c Sharma b Ashwin 19
Cameron White c Jadeja b Kumar 0
Shane Watson b Mohit Sharma 1
Glenn Maxwell b Ashwin 23
George Bailey c Kohli b Jadeja 8
Brad Hodge c Jadeja b Mishra 13
Brad Haddin c Rahane b Mishra 6
Mitchell Starc run out 2
James Muirhead c Dhoni b Ashwin 3
Doug Bollinger not out 1
Extras (lb 3, w 1) 4
Total (all out in 16.2 overs) 86
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Finch, 3.2 overs), 2-19 (White, 4.2), 3-21 (Watson, 5.1), 4-44 (Warner, 7.4), 5-55 (Maxwell, 9.1), 6-63 (Bailey, 10.3), 7-75 (Haddin, 13.2), 8-79 (Starc, 14.3), 9-83 (Hodge, 15.2), 10-86 (Muirhead, 16.2)
Bowling
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-0-7-1
Mohit Sharma 2-0-11-1
Ravichandran Ashwin 3.2-0-11-4
Suresh Raina 1-0-16-0
Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-25-1
Amit Mishra 3-0-13-2
Match details
Toss: Australia chose to field
Points: India 2, Australia 0
Player of the match: R Ashwin (India)
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and Marais Erasmus (South Africa)
TV umpire: Ian Gould (England)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire: Richard Kettleborough (England)
