India send Aussies down under

Yuvraj Singh was India’s hero yet again as the hosts ended Australia’s 12-year-reign as World Cup champions with a five wicket quarter-final victory on Thursday. The left-hander’s unbeaten 57 — his fourth fifty of a tournament where he is averaging over a hundred— saw his team home after they’d been wobbling at 187 for five.

But India reached their target of 261 with 14 balls to spare.

Victory set up a dream semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan in Mohali on March 30.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting scored his first international century in over a year in a total of 260 for six.

But it wasn’t enough to maintain his team’s bid for an unprecedented fourth straight World Cup title and fifth in all.

India, aiming for a first World Cup title since 1983, needed 54 to win off the final 10 overs.

Yuvraj eased fraying home nerves with a square-driven four off Brett Lee and, with erratic speedster Shaun Tait (one for 52 in seven overs) conceding 13 runs in the 41st over, the target became well under a run-a-ball.

Yuvraj struck a brilliant straight six off Tait before ending the match with a four off Lee. He was well-supported in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 74 by Suresh Raina (34 not out).

Ponting was previously involved in a controversial incident which could have seen Gambhir out for nought when he dived forward at square leg for a possible catch before suggesting he was uncertain as to whether the ball had carried.

The umpires referred the decision but replays showed the ball bouncing well in front of Ponting. Opener Sachin Tendulkar looked in sublime touch.

But Australia denied him his 100th international hundred when he was caught behind off Tait for a fluent 53 during which he became the first batsman to score 18,000 one-day international runs.

Gambhir and Virat Kohli batted steadily in a stand of 49 before Kohli (24) slapped a full toss from part-time spinner David Hussey straight to Michael Clarke at short mid-wicket.

AUSTRALIA
S Watson b Ashwin		 25
B Haddin c Raina b Yuvraj	 53
R Ponting c Zaheer b Ashwin	104
M Clarke c Zaheer b Yuvraj	  8
M Hussey b Zaheer		  3
C White c and b Zaheer		 12
D Hussey not out 		 38
M Johnson not out 		  6
Extras (lb2, w9)		 11
Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 	260
Did not bat: J Krejza, B Lee, S Tait.
Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Watson), 2-110 (Haddin), 3-140 (Clarke), 
4-150 (M Hussey), 5-190 (White), 6-245 (Ponting)
Bowling: Ashwin 10-0-52-2 (1w); Zaheer 10-0-53-2; 
Harbhajan 10-0-50-0 (4w); Patel 7-0-44-0; Yuvraj 10-0-44-2; Tendulkar 2-0-9-0; Kohli 1-0-6-0.

INDIA
V. Sehwag c M Hussey b Watson	 	15
S. Tendulkar c Haddin b Tait		53
G. Gambhir run out (White/D Hussey)	50
V. Kohli c Clarke b D Hussey		24
Yuvraj Singh not out			57
MS Dhoni c Clarke b Lee			 7
S. Rainanot out				34
Extras (lb3, w16, nb2)			21
Total (5 wkts, 47.4 overs)		261
Did not bat: Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, M Patel
Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Sehwag), 2-94 (Tendulkar), 3-143 (Kohli), 
4-168 (Gambhir), 5-187 (Dhoni).
Bowling: Lee 8.4-1-45-1 (3w); Tait 7-0-52-1 (2nb, 6w); Johnson 8-0-41-0 (2w); 
Watson 7-0-37-1 (1w); Krejza 9-0-45-0; Clarke 3-0-19-0; D Hussey 5-0-19-1.

AHMEDABAD, Thursday, AFP