VIRAT KOHLI is the Man of the Match
“I would like to thank the crowd, it was unbelievable, the support helps you push through those tough times. You need challenges in every game, they improve you as a cricketers. I don’t know what to say, I am overwhelmed by … Yuvi had a good partnership and then MS kept me calm … We have always run well, we have an understanding, that’s why you train in the gym, you have those fitness regimes, that paid off today. This innings has to be in my top three, perhaps the top right now because I’m a bit emotional.”
One blog wrote: What an innings by Virat Kohli. He single-handedly won India this match and helped them qualify for the semi-finals. He has scored unbeaten 82 runs off just 51 balls. He is emerging as the biggest match-winner for India. This innings will be remembered for a long time.
Steven Smith won the toss and chose to bat in Australia’s quasi quarter-final against India in Mohali.
Both captains named unchanged teams, Australia resisting the temptation to tweak their side after beating Pakistan, and India now going through the group stage with the same XI in each match.
Smith said the pitch looked good for batting but might slow up later in the game, and MS Dhoni said he too would have batted had he won the toss. “It looks like a surface that the batsmen will love,” Dhoni said. “But it depends, how well it comes off the wicket.”
Both teams had beaten Bangladesh and Pakistan, and lost to New Zealand, which made the clash a straight knockout contest. The winner will progress to the semi-final along with New Zealand.
India1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish Nehra
Australia 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 David Warner, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Shane Watson, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 Josh Hazlewood.
