(India (IND) take on Australia (AUS) in the second semi-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 here. Catch the live cricket scores and updates of the match here)
Australia have done well to set a 329-run target, and India have an uphill task ahead of them in order to chase it down successfully. No team has ever chased 300 ever in World Cup knockout game, and against this bowling attack, India will really have to pull off a good batting show here. They not only need strong partnerships in the middle but also an aggressive start, which can help them garner couple of quick runs in the beginning. Here is Nishad Pai Vaidya’s innings report of Australia setting 329-run target vs India. Stay tuned!
LIVE SCORE Australia 328/7 in 50 Overs: Johnson hits on the leg side to collect two runs off Mohit’s first ball and then a single in the same area. DROPPED! Haddin pick a slower one, hits to midwicket and Kohli fails to collect the ball despite three attempts. Johnson rubs it in with a four on a full toss over mid off. The second last ball is slow again, and guess what, Johnson sends it flying over the ropes! . BATTING: Brad Haddin 7 (7), Mitchell Johnson 27 (9)
LIVE SCORE Australia 313/7 in 49 Overs: Mitchell Johnson connects one as he slams a four past Virat Kohli at mid on. The left-hander then makes room to hit over the fielders in the ring on the off side and Umesh fails to save a boundary despite the dive. Johnson is riding his luck, the fifth ball is hit over the short third man in the air for four. Good stuff from Johnson. BATTING: Brad Haddin 6 (6), Mitchell Johnson 13 (4)
LIVE SCORE Australia 299/7 in 48 Overs: All eyes are on Haddin now as Australia need more runs in the last two overs. Mitchell Johnson is the new man in. BATTING: Brad Haddin 5 (5), Mitchell Johnson 0 (0)
LIVE SCORE Australia 298/7 in 47.5 Overs: Mohit continues as Watson pierces gap on the off side to hit a four. Lucky for him as a stroke in the air on leg side falls in no man’s land. Watson improvises as he slams one on midwicket for another four. And then, finally slower delivery works for Mohit as Watto is caught in the deep! BATTING: Brad Haddin 4 (3)
OUT! Shane Watson c Ajinkya Rahane b Mohit Sharma 28 (30),
LIVE SCORE Australia 288/6 in 47 Overs: Brad Haddin is the new man in and after two dot balls he smashes a four right down the ground. India need to ensure they do not give away too many runs now. BATTING: Shane Watson 18 (25), Brad Haddin 4 (3)
LIVE SCORE Australia 284/6 in 46.3 Overs: Watson hits one really hard but straight to the fielder at deep midwicket. Faulkner shows hot it is done — he beats the man at the same position to hit a four. And then Umesh Yadav shows India how it is done! CLEANED UP! Faulker is GONE!!!. BATTING: Shane Watson 18 (25),
OUT! James Faulkner b Umesh Yadav 21 (12)
LIVE SCORE Australia 279/5 in 46 Overs: Jadeja comes on for the final over and Faulkner rams a six over midwicket to start off. The spinner then does well to keep the batsmen tied up in the remainder of the over with three dot balls. BATTING: Shane Watson 17 (24), James Faulkner 17 (10)
LIVE SCORE Australia 271/5 in 45 Overs: Watson hits over the fielders on the off side to collect three runs off Shami. Important for India to keep picking wickets. Faulkner gets his first four, over MS Dhoni’s head with a top edge. The fourth ball is again short, and Faulkner hits a four on deep square leg. BATTING: Shane Watson 16 (20), James Faulkner 10 (8)
LIVE SCORE Australia 258/5 in 44 Overs: Ashwin comes on for the final over. And he starts with three dot balls to Watson. The batsman than hits to the long on fielder for two runs. A good over is spoiled on the final ball, with Watson connecting one to hit a six. BATTING: Shane Watson 13 (18), James Faulkner 1 (4)
LIVE SCORE Australia 250/5 in 43 Overs: James Faulkner is the new man in and he is Australia’s last big hope for a 300+ total. Important for India to maintain pressure and keep taking wickets. 250 up for Australia, something which should have happened many overs ago. BATTING: Shane Watson 5 (12), James Faulkner 1 (4)
LIVE SCORE Australia 248/5 in 42.1 Overs: Clarke is someone who can bat in the middle overs, not slog towards the end of an innings when the pressure is really high. He falls in the trap, caught at short midwicket off Mohit Sharma. Catch taken by Rohit Sharma. Sharma’s in operation for India! BATTING: Shane Watson 4 (11),
OUT! Michael Clarke c Rohit Sharma b Mohit Sharma 10 (12)
LIVE SCORE Australia 248/4 in 42 Overs: Clarke breaks the shackles with a four on the leg side to start off Jadeja’s over. India have done well to put the breaks on Australia’s charge here. BATTING: Shane Watson 4 (11), Michael Clarke 10 (11)
LIVE SCORE Australia 241/4 in 41 Overs: Jadeja covers a lot of ground and stops the ball diving to his left. See, how couple of wickets can lift a side! Runs have stopped coming easily for the Aussies and they are in a dilemma clearly now. Excellent over from Shami. BATTING: Shane Watson 3 (9), Michael Clarke 4 (7)
LIVE SCORE Australia 239/4 in 40 Overs: What will Clarke and Watson do now? Stabilise or accelerate? Jadeja is back into attack and Australia deal with singles. India have applied breaks on the Aussies and that too in style! Four runs off the over. BATTING: Shane Watson 2 (5), Michael Clarke 3 (5)
LIVE SCORE Australia 235/4 in 39 Overs: Bad move from Clarke as he has promoted himself ahead of James Faulkner. Australia are on backfoot with India bouncing back in commanding manner. Another excellent over for India! BATTING: Shane Watson
0 (3), Michael Clarke 1 (1)
LIVE SCORE Australia 233/4 in 38.2 Overs: THERE IT IS!!! Another wicket for India as Umesh Yadav gets Aaron Finch caught at short midwicket. India right back on top and Australia in tremendous pressure! BATTING: Shane Watson 0 (0)
OUT! Aaron Finch c Shikhar Dhawan b Umesh Yadav 81 (116)
LIVE SCORE Australia 233/3 in 38 Overs: Shane Watson is the new man in as the whole of India has taken a HUGE sigh of relief. Good comeback by India with couple of wickets, BATTING: Aaron Finch 81 (114), Shane Watson 0 (0)
LIVE SCORE Australia 231/3 in 37.3 Overs: Maxwell vs Ashwin now. And Ashwin wins the battle!!! Maxwell falls as Australia lose a HUGE WICKET!!! Maxwell blocks one but fails to control himself, plays one straight down to the man at square leg. Ashwin strikes and man what a wicket!!! BATTING: Aaron Finch 79 (110),
OUT! Glenn Maxwell c Ajinkya Rahane b Ravichandran Ashwin 23 (14)
LIVE SCORE Australia 231/2 in 37 Overs: Another appeal for leg before but Finch was hit above the knee roll. Maxwell gets a loose delivery on the pads which he puts away for a boundary. The third delivery is a gift, outside off and Maxwell sends it flying into the stands. Runs continue to flow for Australia, Maxwell makes room to smash a four over the bowler’s head. 15 runs added. BATTING: Aaron Finch 79 (110), Glenn Maxwell 23 (12)
LIVE SCORE Australia 216/2 in 36 Overs: Maxwell gets a leading edge and the ball falls safely behind Dhoni as the batsman adds two runs off Shami’s first ball. The bowler puts one short and Finch gets a four on the fine leg region. Maxwell once again hits in the air, ball falls short to the third man. BATTING: Aaron Finch 79 (109), Glenn Maxwell 9 (7)
LIVE SCORE Australia 206/2 in 35 Overs: Umesh is erratic after that wicket as he bowls a couple of wides down the leg side. Maxwell begins with a four on the leg side as Umesh continues to struggle with his line. 200 up for Australia. BATTING: Aaron Finch 73 (106), Glenn Maxwell 5 (4)
LIVE SCORE Australia 197/2 in 34.1 Overs: OUT! Steven Smith is fallen on the first ball to Umesh Yadav as he is caught in the deep square leg, after a brilliant century. And as expected, the most dangerous of them all, Glenn Maxwell, has walked out to bat. If India need to remain in this contest, they will have to find a way to get rid of Maxwell very soon. Or else a total of 400 could be possible. BATTING: Aaron Finch 73 (105),
OUT! Steven Smith c Rohit Sharma b Umesh Yadav 105 (93)
VIDEO: STEVEN SMITH FALLS AFTER 93-BALL 105
LIVE SCORE Australia 197/1 in 34 Overs: Mohit bowls one slow and short and Finch sends it flying over the ropes on the off side for a six! Australia are picking up on their scoring rate ad the fourth ball, again a slower one, is hit down the ground by Smith. Australia making most of the batting powerplay. This is highest partnership versus India in this World Cup. Another four over short fine leg to end the over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 73 (105), Steven Smith 105 (92)
LIVE SCORE Australia 181/1 in 33 Overs: Shami is back into the attack as India realise they need a wicket desperately. Smith is beaten on the third ball but the fourth is slammed over midwicket boundary for another six! The right-hander gets a four on the final ball, bringing up his century off just 89 balls!!! BATTING: Aaron Finch 62 (102), Steven Smith 100 (89)
LIVE SCORE Australia 167/1 in 32 Overs: Ashwin continues for his eighth over as Australia continue to get runs easily. Finch and Smith have taken their stand past 150 runs. A misfield from Rohit gets another run to them on the off side. Six more runs added. BATTING: Aaron Finch 62 (102), Steven Smith 86 (83)
LIVE SCORE Australia 161/1 in 31 Overs: Smith hits one down the ground for a four off Mohit on the second ball. Loud, desperate appeal for leg-before as Finch was hit once again on the pads. Height was the issue and the impact was outside off. Six more runs added to the total. BATTING: Aaron Finch 57 (97), Steven Smith 85 (82)
LIVE SCORE Australia 155/1 in 30 Overs: Certainly, Indian camp would be disappointed with no wicket coming from Ashwin and Jadeja. Australia have been scoring more than five an over. Good over from Ashwin as only two runs were taken. BATTING: Aaron Finch 56 (94), Steven Smith 80 (79)
LIVE SCORE Australia 153/1 in 29 Overs: Change in the bowling attack as Mohit Sharma comes on, and beats Smith outside off on the first ball. Both Smith and Finch have ran very well between the wickets, giving the Indians no chance whatsoever. 150 up for Australia in the 29th over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 55 (89), Steven Smith 79 (78)
LIVE SCORE Australia 147/1 in 28 Overs: Ashwin continues. It’s been a struggle for India so far after the initial burst, Dhoni would be thinking as to how keep Australia below 300. Four more runs added off Ashwin’s sixth over in the innings. Meanwhile, Anushka Sharma has been spotted in the stand at the SCG. BATTING: Aaron Finch 54 (88), Steven Smith 74 (73)
LIVE SCORE Australia 143/1 in 27 Overs: Aaron Finch brings up his half-century as Australians continue to score runs easily off India’s two best bowlers. Smith dances down the wicket to end the over with a four. BATTING: Aaron Finch 51 (83), Steven Smith 73 (72)
LIVE SCORE Australia 135/1 in 26 Overs: Appeal for run out as the ball brushed Ashwin’s finger before hitting the non-strikers’ end’s wickets. Finch makes it in on time. Fine over from Ashwin as first five balls only get a single. Three runs from the over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 49 (81), Steven Smith 67 (68)
LIVE SCORE Australia 132/1 in 25 Overs: Jadeja appeals for a caught behind against Finch as the ball had hit the pads and Dhoni took the catch. Smith then rubs it in with a six over midwicket region, rocking back into the crease. . BATTING: Aaron Finch 47 (80), Steven Smith 66 (63)
LIVE SCORE Australia 123/1 in 24 Overs: India have lost their only review and things are getting tougher for them. Finch and Smith are batting excellently against the slow bowlers, and they are collecting runs at ease. Another five runs added off Ashwin’s over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 46 (76), Steven Smith 59 (61)
LIVE SCORE Australia 118/1 in 23 Overs: Full marks to Smith and Finch as they bring up the 100-run stand for the second wicket. India looking a little clueless right now, are only able to contain. But then, boundaries are being hit as well. Jadeja traps Finch on the pads. He appeals, is confident and talks Dhoni into taking a DRS review. Impact was outside the off stump, shows the review. Finch survives! BATTING: Aaron Finch 44 (73), Steven Smith 55 (58)
LIVE SCORE Australia 114/1 in 22 Overs: Ashwin is getting some sharp turn, but the third delivery is loose, outside off and Finch cuts it well for a boundary. The Aussie opener has been slow and edgy but has survived so far. Do not see a wicket coming from anywhere by the look of things. BATTING: Aaron Finch 42 (69), Steven Smith 53 (56)
LIVE SCORE Australia 107/1 in 21 Overs: Jadeja continues. India attacking with slow bowlers, need wickets desperately. Only two runs as Jadeja finishes off another excellent over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 35 (63), Steven Smith 53 (56)
LIVE SCORE Australia 105/1 in 20 Overs: Ashwin is getting lot of turn, as one ball goes between Dhoni and Suresh Raina at first slip as the Australians collect three runs. Perhaps Raina could have ran behind the ball and not reacted how did they miss it. Five runs added by the Aussie batsmen to their team total. BATTING: Aaron Finch 34 (58), Steven Smith 52 (55)
LIVE SCORE Australia 100/1 in 19 Overs: Change in the ends for Ravindra Jadeja. He does extremely well to keep the batsmen tied up as only two runs were scored. Steven Smith brings up his half-century, also raises 100-run mark for Australia with a single on the final ball. This is Steven Smith’s fourth consecutive half-century! BATTING: Aaron Finch 34 (54), Steven Smith 50 (53)
LIVE SCORE Australia 98/1 in 18 Overs: And there he is! Ravichandran Ashwin is into the attack now. He starts off with a couple of balls and also generates turn. Inside edge off Steven Smith’s bat on the final ball but the batsman is safe. BATTING: Aaron Finch 33 (52), Steven Smith 49 (49)
LIVE SCORE Australia 96/1 in 17 Overs: Mohit continues post the drinks break. Australia have settled down really well after the initial nervousness. Finch too, as he reads one slow from the bowler really well and hits on the off side for a boundary. Time for Ravi Ashwin? BATTING: Aaron Finch 32 (48), Steven Smith 48 (47)
LIVE SCORE Australia 89/1 in 16 Overs: Finch is opening up as he punches one past the man at extra cover to smash a boundary. Australia have done excellent job so far since Warner’s dismissal, India in need of wickets. Another good over, seven runs added. Time for drinks. BATTING: Aaron Finch 28 (46), Steven Smith 45 (43)
LIVE SCORE Australia 82/1 in 15 Overs: Mohit continues. Australian batsmen deal in singles majorly. Mohit is teasing the Aussies with excellent mix of slow and fast balls. Five runs added off Mohit’s over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 23 (43), Steven Smith 43 (40)
LIVE SCORE Australia 77/1 in 14 Overs: So the Virat Kohli experiment was only for one over and Ravindra Jadeja has come on to bowl. Finch hits on the off side to collect a single on the third ball. Finch and Smith have completed their half-century stand. Smith hits well towards long on to take another single. Fine stroke by Smith once again, on the deep square leg area for three runs. BATTING: Aaron Finch 21 (41), Steven Smith 40 (36)
LIVE SCORE Australia 71/1 in 13 Overs: Mohit drops one short and Finch smashes it for a four. Australia continue to score runs easily and India need wickets to keep the pressure on. Another good over for Australia as seven runs come off it. BATTING: Aaron Finch 19 (37), Steven Smith 36 (34)
LIVE SCORE Australia 64/1 in 12 Overs: What a surprise! MS Dhoni gets Virat Kohli to replace Umesh Yadav. A single is taken on the third ball wby Finch with a stroke down the ground. Fourth delivery is poor, without any pace and is short. Smith rams it for another four. BATTING: Aaron Finch 14 (32), Steven Smith 35 (33)
LIVE SCORE Australia 57/1 in 11 Overs: Mohit Sharma replaces Mohammed Shami. A single is taken on the first ball, Mohit then keeps Smith tied on the strike with couple of slow deliveries. Good start, only one run from the over. BATTING: Aaron Finch 12 (28), Steven Smith 30 (31)
LIVE SCORE Australia 56/1 in 10 Overs: Umesh continues. Smith does well to hit a four on the first ball between point and extra cover. The next delivery is short, and Smith hits past mid on to hit second four in a row. The ball connected toe end of Smith’s bat, and he gets it changed. The scoring continues! Smith gets on top on a short ball and smashes it on deep square leg for third four in the over! Same!!! Exactly the same ball and exactly the same shot. Four boundaries in the over. Smith is on a roll. 16 runs scored from the over, and bring up their 50-run mark. BATTING: Aaron Finch 11 (27), Steven Smith 30 (26)
LIVE SCORE Australia 40/1 in 9 Overs: Shami surprises Finch with a short ball which the batsman hits to the leg side for a single. The next two balls are dots. Smith takes a single with a gentle push on leg side on the fourth ball. Next two balls defended by Finch. BATTING: Aaron Finch 11 (27), Steven Smith 14 (20)
LIVE SCORE Australia 38/1 in 8 Overs: Smith takes a single on the first ball as he pushes on the leg side off Umesh. Finch then hits one through off to take another single. Rare blip? Smith hits in the air and ball dies right before Ravindra Jadeja at point. Single on the fourth ball on fine leg. BATTING: Aaron Finch 10 (24), Steven Smith 13 (17)
LIVE SCORE Australia 34/1 in 7 Overs: Shami continues. The first three balls to Smith are dots, and the batsman then hits to the fine leg fielder to take a single on the fourth. Shami is swinging the ball very well into these right handers. Two runs from the over including one extra. BATTING: Aaron Finch 8 (22), Steven Smith 11 (13)
LIVE SCORE Australia 32/1 in 6 Overs: Umesh hits Smith on the pads who has the habit of shuffling across the wickets. The bowler appeals and then discusses with his captain. Good call as India do not take review and umpire had given it not out. The ball would have flicked the bails. Single on the third ball. What a ball! Umesh bowls one right outside the off stump on good length and Finch was once again beaten. That was fast! Finch replies with hitting one straight to mid on. BATTING: Aaron Finch 8 (20), Steven Smith 10 (9)
LIVE SCORE Australia 31/1 in 5 Overs: Bad ball from Shami on the pads and Finch hits the third boundary of the game down the ground. Two runs taken on the second ball in fine leg region. India cannot let Finch settle down here, he has been fidgety. Next two deliveries are dot. Single on the second last ball, with an outside edge past the man at point. Smith, the man in form, collects three runs as he hits a yorker on the leg side for three runs. BATTING: Aaron Finch 8 (17), Steven Smith 9 (6)
LIVE SCORE Australia 21/1 in 4 Overs: Steven Smith has walked out at No. 3 and boy he is in some form! After a couple of dot balls he hits a four straight down the ground. This is the man India want badly. If he falls early, Australia will be in real trouble. BATTING: Aaron Finch 1 (12), Steven Smith 6 (5)
LIVE SCORE Australia 15/1 in 3.1 Overs: MASSIVE WICKET!!! Warner, as usual, plays a poor stroke and he has fallen! Warner tries to flick one short from Umesh on the leg side, got an outside edge and Virat Kohli at mid on takes a dolly! India get the wicket they wanted!!! Umesh Yadav is pumped up, he is roaring like a beast. So is India! BATTING: Aaron Finch 1 (12),
OUT! David Warner c Virat Kohli b Umesh Yadav 12 (7)
WATCH VIDEO OF DAVID WARNER’S DISMISSAL HERE
LIVE SCORE Australia 15/0 in 3 Overs: Shami starts off the second over with the wide. Finch is beaten on the next ball as he went for the mighty drive and the ball went to MS Dhoni between the batsman’s bat and pads. Loud appeal for leg before against Finch, who is all at sea at the moment. It was hitting way above the knee roll. Not out. Excellent stuff from Shami. Finch is not able to rotate the strike as the fourth ball raps him on the thigh pad. An inside edge on the fifth ball! Finch tried hitting on off, ball went to man at short midwicket. BATTING: Aaron Finch 1 (12), David Warner 12 (6)
LIVE SCORE Australia 14/0 in 2 Overs: Umesh Yadav to bowl the second over. India need wickets early on. Warner strikes the first ball past the man at mid off to collect four runs. The second delivery is defended on the back foot. Single on the off side on the third ball. First five dot balls from Finch in the game. Nervous moment as an outside edge flies in the gully area, straight to the third man. The final ball is short, and Warner is not going to miss these! A six over the deep square leg!!! BATTING: Aaron Finch 1 (6), David Warner 12 (6)
LIVE SCORE Australia 2/0 in 1 Over: Mohammed Shami begins with a peach of a delivery, beating Aaron Finch outside the off-stump. Appeal for a leg before on the third ball but it was going down the leg side. David Warner too is beaten on the first ball! Dream start? Warner hits through covers to take a single on the second last ball. Final delivery is defended by Finch on front foot. BATTING: Aaron Finch 0 (4), David Warner 1 (2)
8.55 AM: Time for national anthems! And boy, you could hear the crowds singing the Indian and Australian national anthems! What a massive moment for everyone out there!!! Match begins in less than five minutes now.
8.40 AM: India will really need to bowl well because in such pressure games, anything above 250 could be tricky. The good part for them is the Australian openers have not clicked together so far, with both David Warner and Aaron Finch having a quiet time so far. Finch scored a century against ngland in the first game, since then not even a half-century. Warner’s suicidal stroke versus Pakistan showed the shortcoming in him.
8.35 AM: What a massive toss won by Australia! Everyone said winning the toss is the key and so is putting up runs on the board. Australia have edged ahead of India with this. MS Dhoni said India wanted to bat too. How many runs do you think Australia will put up?
TOSS: Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat against India in the second semi-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), on Thursday.
TEAMS:
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke (c), Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma
8.25 AM: The challenge doesn’t get any tougher than this for Team India: Australia have not lost any semi-final in the history of World Cup tournaments. And lest we forget, it was India that knocked out Australia in the last World Cup back in 2011 in the quarter-final round.
Indian fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Photo courtesy: Nishad Pai Vaidya
8.20 AM: Just a few minutes for the toss as the excitement is building up. The pitch does not have much grass, which Michael Clarke would have ideally liked. Indian fans are all over the SCG.
Indian fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Photo courtesy: Nishad Pai Vaidya
8.00 AM: Interesting scenes from the SCG. George Bailey was on his knees, yelling out something as he moved around the Australian team and the support staff, standing in a huddle around him. Perhaps a joke which ended up with the entire group bursting into laughter. On the other side, there was the Indian cricket team, being given directions by their head coach Duncan Fletcher.
7.50 AM: The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is an absolute beauty! Check out a picture of the iconic venue clicked by our man Nishad Pai Vaidya, who has been bringing you exclusive reports of the Indian cricket team throughout this ICC Cricket World Cup 2015!
An overview of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Photo Courtesy: Nishad Pai Vaidya
7.50 AM: Michael Clarke was gracious enough to click a photograph of the commentary team which included the legends such as Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Mark Taylor, Allan Border, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen and a few more. Both the teams reached the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) sometime back and they are now going through warm-up drills.
The Indian fans, as expected, have turned in large numbers! Photo courtesy: Nishad Pai Vaidya
India Needs 329 Runs to Win against Australia | Aus sets a Target off 328 vs Ind
