File photo of Mitchell Starc© BCCI/Sportzpics

After SRH paid Rs 20.5 crore for Pat Cummins, KKR splashed Rs 24.75 crore on Mitchell Starc.© BCCI

File image of Brett Lee.© X (Twitter)

India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed his broadcaster Star Sports for using a graphic about Rohit Sharma‘s weakness against left-arm seamers during India’s Super 8 clash against Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup. While Rohit’s flaws against left-arm seam are widely known, he smacked left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in an over, en route to his 41-ball 92. However, after Starc did get Rohit out, Star Sports put up a graphic about Rohit’s dismissals against left-arm pacers, which left Gavaskar annoyed.

“Thinking about Rohit Sharma once again, he got out to a left-hander (left-arm seamer). So before the next match, are we going to do another segment about his weakness to left-handers?” asked a bewildered Gavaskar.

Aaron Finch, who was sitting next to Gavaskar in the commentary box, reasoned that there are a lot more left-arm pacers nowadays, with not only Starc for Australia, but also the likes of Trent Boult (New Zealand) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan).

“There are more left-armers playing now, and they are genuine swing bowlers. So that poses a challenge to the opening batter,” said Finch, trying to justify the graphic.

Gavaskar retorted, saying that it isn’t a problem worth highlighting.

“I don’t think you should be looking much into that. If you’re playing attacking shots when the ball is swinging in, you will be out LBW, you will be out bowled,” said Gavaskar, the first man to reach 10,000 Test runs.

While Rohit Sharma played one of the best innings of the 2024 T20 World Cup, his opening partner Virat Kohli got out for his second duck of the tournament. Gavaskar has recently come under attack on social media for his supposed biased analysis towards the dismissals of the two batters.

“Commentators create divide between players and the fans,” one user had tweeted, after Gavaskar criticised Kohli’s shot-selection against Bangladesh, whilst calling Rohit’s approach a selfless one.

India captain Rohit Sharma sent fans on social media into a frenzy many times en route to his 92 against Australia in the final Super 8 game of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Be it his onslaught on Mitchell Starc in an over that went for 29 runs, or his catch to dismiss an in-form Travis Head, Rohit had many memorable moments for the Indian fan to remember. But one shot in particular – a 100m six on the bowling of Australia’s Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins – might’ve been the sweetest.

Coming in to bowl the fifth over, Rohit welcomed Cummins with a tremendous shot. The Indian skipper got down on one knee and slogswept it over midwicket, and sent the ball back by 100 metres.

What made the six even more special was that it took Rohit’s tally of T20I sixes to 200; he became the first player to achieve this feat.

Rohit’s outstanding shot also sent the fans at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground into ecstasy, bringing out a roar that clocked 110 decibels.

Hold this class of “Rohit Gurunath Sharma”

[100m long six to the best bowler of this generation shows class of Hitman]

pic.twitter.com/DAzMpk5Du6

— Gillfied (@Gill_era7) June 24, 2024

Rohit Sharma’s 41-ball 92 helped India to a mammoth total of 205-5. Australia fell short in the end by 24 runs, despite Travis Head making 76 off 43 balls.

The win for India sends them through to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, where they’ll face England, in a rematch of the 2022 T20 World Cup semis. On that occasion, England had thumped India by 10 wickets.

For Australia, their fate is not in their control, as an Afghanistan win against Bangladesh would eliminate the 2023 World Cup champions, and send Afghanistan into the semis.

After a dominant group stage, Australia lost to both Afghanistan and India, putting their semi-final hopes in jeopardy.

India take on England in the second semi-final on June 27, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

The India vs Australia T20 World Cup 2024 match will be remembered for a long time for Rohit Sharma‘s terrific hitting against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and others. The Indian cricket team skipper struck eight sixes and seven fours on way to score a 41-ball 92. Though Rohit Sharma went after all the bowlers, he was particularly brutal towards one – Starc. When the left-arm pacer was inducted into the XI, the general thought was that it was to counter the India captain’s weakness against the left-arm pacer. 

What, however, happened was the exact opposite. In the third over by Starc, Rohit hit four sixes and one four. There was a wide in the over too as it yielded 29 runs. Rohit’s wife Ritika, who was present in the stands, was naturally elated. 

Rohit Sharma combined brute force with elegance in his 92 off 41 balls as India amassed 205 for five against Australia on a belter in their final Super Eights fixture of the T20 World Cup here on Monday.

Ritika Sajdeh’s reaction on Rohit Sharma’s brutal onslaught. pic.twitter.com/Xfx6w6a6SQ

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 24, 2024

On the best batting surface of the tournament, Australia put India in to bat and Rohit made the most of the conditions with a sublime knock comprising seven fours and eight sixes including a recording extending 200th in the format.

It was the start of something special when Rohit flicked Mitchell Starc for four in the first over of the game.

Virat Kohli (0) at the other end mistimed a pull off Josh Hazlewood in the following over to be caught in the deep.

Walking the talk once again, Rohit never took the foot off the pedal and went hammer and tongs against Starc, whose second over yielded as many as 29 runs, his most expensive in the format.

The first two sixes in the over came via delightful aerial drive over extra cover before he smashed one in the cow corner region. The fourth maximum of the over came via a mishit that went all the way behind the stumps.

Rohit did bulk of the damage in his 87-run stand with number three Rishabh Pant (15 off 14), who welcomed leg-spinner Adam Zampa into the attack with a six over long-on.

Australia’s trump card went wicket-less.

Another memorable shot of Rohit’s innings was the down-on-one-knee six over deep mid-wicket off Pat Cummins in the latter’s opening over.

Credit must go to India for not allowing any other bowler to settle into a rhythm. Rohit brought his fifty at end of the fifth over with a single and that was also the fastest of the tournament.

Rohit unleashed a six over extra cover when Marcus Stoinis came into the attack in the eighth over.

Such was the authority of Rohit’s innings that he could choose his spot against all the bowlers of repute. It could have been a well-deserved 100 but Starc came back to remove the India skipper with a yorker.

With PTI inputs

India vs Australia Live: Squads –

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.

Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis.

Following a setback against Afghanistan that left Australia speechless at Arnos Vale Ground, captain Mitchell Marsh has issued a warning to his teammates ahead of their final clash in the Super 8 against unbeaten India at the 2024 T20 World Cup. The spirited performance from Afghanistan left Australia in a peculiar situation. Australia will now step into Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia to face India in a must-win game. With the Baggy Greens looking to bounce back from their recent setback, Marsh emphasized the need to win against India.

“First and foremost, it becomes clear for us. We need to win, and no better team to do it against. Full credit to Afghanistan for tonight, and we move on quickly,” Marsh said in the post-match presentation.

Things didn’t fall in place for Australia as they looked to sneak away a win and seal their place in the semi-final.

Catches were dropped, and a couple of misfields led to boundaries. Ashton Agar misjudging the ball as it went away for a four was one such example of their struggles.

It eventually came back to haunt Australia as a couple of errors in the field allowed Afghanistan to put 148/6 on the board.

“They got 20 too many. And to be honest, they played a really good game of cricket. We were outplayed tonight,” Marsh added.

Marsh won the toss and decided to bowl. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan admitted that they wanted to bat because the record indicated chasing a target on the surface was a taxing job.

“We did think about it. A lot of teams have bowled first at this World Cup to get an idea of the surface. Don’t think we lost at the toss. It was an off-night for us in the field, and we own that. We’ll be back next game. It wasn’t an easy wicket, but both teams played on this surface,” Marsh concluded.

With their fate hanging in balance, Australia will face India at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia, on Monday to fight for their semi-final spot.

Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Live Streaming: Australia take on Afghanistan in the Super 8, hoping to all but seal their place in the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup. On the other hand, after a crushing 47-run loss to India, Afghanistan cannot avoid another loss to keep their semi-final hopes intact. The Asian nation will need to provide Rahmanullah Gurbaz with more support in batting, which has been their big weakness. Australia are firing on all cylinders and will look to remain unbeaten in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

When will the Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match be played?

The Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will be played on Sunday, June 23 (IST).

Where will the Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match be played?

The Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will be played at the Arnos Vale Ground, St. Vincent.

What time will the Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match start?

The Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will start at 6:00 AM IST. The toss will take place at 5:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will telecast the Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match?

The Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will be telecast in India on the Star Sports Network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match?

The Afghanistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 match will be streamed live on Disney plus Hotstar app and website.

(All the details are as per the information provided by the broadcaster)

AFG vs AUS T20 World Cup 2024 LIVE Scorecard: Afghanistan need to win to stay alive in T20 World Cup.© AFP