World T20: India vs Australia

That is all from the day. Thank you for joining us!

Poll at the request of a fan:

Who is the happiest after today's result?

a) Warner
b) Watson
c) Bailey
d) Sehwag

MS Dhoni feels the spinners did not get much from the track today. Though he says the Australian openers impressed him, the ball failed to do much after the brief drizzle. "We may have also fallen about 20 runs short," he adds.

Shane Watson says he enjoys batting a bit more. "Is a bit more satisfying." He had three wickets and 72 runs today.

Australia skipper George Bailey says there are no two better hitters in the world than Watson and Warner.

Confirmation. Watson is man of the match. He now has the most wickets, most sixes, most MoM awards and second-most runs in the tournament

India thrashed England! Australia thrash India. Some one, spare a thought for England!

A superb effort from Shane Watson in particular. Three wickets and 72 runs for him. Surely, the player of the day!

And that is that!

Australia win by 9 wickets. A comprehensive win for the side against India.

Watson departs. Just seven needed now though.

Warner slams a fifty. He and Watson have now surpassed the previous best opening partnership in T20s, set by the same pair!

With five bowlers being picked today, Dhoni still has to bring Virat and Rohit to bowl. That has the story of the day.

Fifty for Watson in just 28!

So in how many overs is this mayhem coming to an end? 12, 15 or 18?

Massive and frequent!

Warner, Watson in a battle of their own for sixes.

50 in 6.4 overs for Australia. India were ahead in completing theirs - 5.5 overs!

The rampage mode is now officially ON!

Warner, Watson provide catching practice to the spectators.

This is confidence at its best. Australian openers are finding the gaps and running hard.

Seems whatever he does, or rather in this case, fails to do earns Rohit Sharma brickbats. This time, he mis-fields. Can India really afford that? (We mean the mis-field, not the player)

First over takes 9 off the target. It included a missile-like shot from Warner, straight back.

Recap:

Here is Dhoni from his 'explosive' innings today. He scored 15 off 21.

And just as quickly as the covers came on, they are off! Ashwin inspects the track. He will resume with the first over of the chase.

Showers now force the covers to come on! Australia 5/0 in 0.3.

And the players are out:

R Ashwin to open the bowling for India.

So, experts thought 140 was a fighting total on this track. India now have a chance to justify playing five bowlers. The opinion though that matters the most is YOURS.

Do you think India can defend 140 against Australia's batting line-up?

So India get 140, after all. Final over sees two boundaries and then fades away for the team total to hit the mark with a cuddly thud!

Two boundaries from Raina's blade. Goes for the aerial route and falls off the third!

India need 11 from this to have a fighting total of 140. That was the par-score to begin with.

Final over to go. Shane Watson to bowl

Big news: Australia mis-field. Allow an extra run.

Bigger news:  R Ashwin has now run (successfully, may we add) two, TWICE!

Ashwin is on FIRE! Hit a massive six. Is now 11 off 4.

Slight drizzle across the stadium. Ground-staff get ready...

Earlier, this is how Rohit Sharma was treated by the Aussies:

Raina finds a bounadry. Ashwin tries to do the same. Success! The rare boundaries seem like so much more.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni departs for India after a painful innings of 15 off 21 balls to Pat Cummins caught by skipper Bailey.

India now in triple digits. Took the team 14.3 overs. Brad Hodge has been, finally may we add, smashed for a straight shot but Dhoni at the other end, continues to have a puzzled face.

Skipper MS Dhoni is at the crease with Suresh Raina. Runs though have dried up. Many regard a plus-140 on this track can be a fighting total. Anything less and this match can wrapped up with ease by the Australians.

Who cares if his expression is weird.

Dan Christian took a splendid catch to get rid of Virat Kohli earlier in the day.

The on-field celebrations. Here is Cummins after removing Kohli:

We said the pitch has turn in it. We stand by it. Pace and genuine speed though continues to know no territorial boundaries. Shane Watson now has two against his name. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc with one each.

Rohit Sharma walks out and Rohit Sharma walks back. After the innings against England, there was some hope of an encore from him. Not to be as the only encore is of his bad form prior to the previous match. 1 run to him, though!

For all his classic cricketing shots though, 31 off 30 is what will be against Irfan's name in the batting scorecard today. His two boundaries and a six were sublime though.

Now that's two quick wickets. After Yuvraj, Irfan Pathan departs. Shane Watson has managed to strike two massive dents.

Yuvi scored just 8 off 10. Australians are surely making their way back and on top of India.

India lose Yuvraj Singh to Shane Watson. Aerial shot finds Glenn Maxwell.

What is an ideal score to be on at the 10-over mark?

India score 70.

West Indies last night had 93 against England.

This pitch today though has some turn. Harbhajan must be itching his palms....

Pat Cummins now has two wickets. He tests Yuvraj with a short-one. There has been a lot of talk Down Under about rotating pacers.

Cummins has age on his side and he, today, is making it count.

Yuvraj at the crease now!

Virat Kohli falls. This is a huge wicket for the Australians. The ball bounced a bit too much and found the top-edge. Kohli made 15.

Irfan has scored 21 off 15 so far. Tweets are talking about Sehwag's average of 21 after 16 innings in this format. Has the strategy worked or is it just too early?

Speaking of form, Irfan is playing a gem of an innings. We were a bit confused about having him open once again but so far, he has been sublime.

India reach 50-run mark in the 6th over. Virat Kohli hits Dan Christian for a boundary. Who has the answer to stop this 23-year-old, we wonder.

Shane Watson  may be the premier player for the Australians with many Down Under banking on him for wins. His first over of the day however has been ransacked for 13 runs.

At the other end, Irfan strikes the first six of the innings. A decent strike over the bowler's head.

A dejected Gambhir walks back after being run-out on 17 off 12.

Virat Kohli has replaced Gambhir in the middle. Has already smashed a boundary.

Meanwhile, Irfan is striking the ball clean. He has hit good, orthodox so far. Seems, he has not been asked to go all guns blazing but as a regular opener for a brisk but solid foundation.

And India lose Gautam Gambhir. A casual flick from Cummins' foot hits the stumps and finds the Indian opener short. Very cheeky from the Aussie or very casual from the Indian?

And it's to the third umpire. Gambhir may be in trouble here.

Gambhir off to a classic start. He is making the ball glide through the off-side. Has found a boundary off Starc. India 15 after 2.

Watch that inside-edge of the bat though, Gambhir.

Mitchell Starc with the second over. Two singles taken off the first two.

Many are a bit surprised with the decision to have Irfan open again. He was ordinary when he opened against England.

Can strike the ball far though.

Decent start for India. Both openers get to face the action in the opening over itself. India pick 8 from the first.

Glenn Maxwell starts for Australia. The first ball is hit for two from Gambhir. Poor running there.

A couple of dots follow and then, Gambhir sends it to the fence with power.

And the players are out. It's Irfan Pathan who opens again with Gautam Gambhir for India.

From the archives:

Australia's former T20 skipper Michael Clarke (left) after his side beat MS Dhoni's team by 49 runs in the Super 8s in 2010.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar has told NDTV that he feels MS Dhoni is taking a big risk by not having Virender Sehwag in the playing XI.

"I would push Virat Kohli up as an opener, not Irfan," he adds.

Here is the Toss report

Squads:

India: G Gambhir, V Kohli, SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, RG Sharma, MS Dhoni, IK Pathan, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, PP Chawla and Z Khan

Australia: DA Warner, SR Watson, MEK Hussey, CL White, GJ Bailey, GJ Maxwell, MS Wade, DT Christian, GB Hogg, PJ Cummins and MA Starc

So, the question we are asking assumes more significance now.

Is Dhoni correct in having dropped Sehwag today?

Official confirmation comes from the skipper himself. India play five bowlers.

AND WE HAVE THE TOSS:

India win and Dhoni opts to bat first against Australia.

In terms of milestones to look forward to, here they are:

Harbhajan needs two wickets to complete 100 in Twenty 20 cricket. Piyush Chawla has the same number but it is unlikely that he will play today. (EDIT AFTER TOSS REPORT: Piyush in playing XI)

Rohit Sharma needs 25 runs to reach the 500-mark in the format.

For the Australians, skipper George Bailey will be playing his 50th T20.

India and Australia have faced each other on six occasions in World T20. Both teams have equal number of wins to show for their efforts, so far.

Pakistan has beaten South Africa by 2 wickets in a close encounter.

Now for India vs Australia. Toss though, has been delayed by 10 minutes.

Of course, we are still awaiting a confirmation on the final playing XI. These are based on what sources have told NDTV.

You can have your say on India's playing XI against Australia here:

Is Dhoni's decision to drop Sehwag correct?

Not to be today though as Virender Sehwag will not play against Australia!

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had earlier said that MS Dhoni should have more faith in Virender Sehwag's abilities. Read report here

MS Dhoni in a press conference a day earlier had already said that he is considering a five-bowlers' attack against the Australians. Read report here

Virender Sehwag was a little unwell earlier in the tournament as well. The decision to not play him however is expected to be because of having five batsmen in the playing XI and pertains less with his form and health.

Sehwag's performance so far in the tournament:

12 off 10 against Sri Lanka (Warm-up)
26 off 14 against Pakistan (Warm-up)

8 off 10 against Afghanistan (Group match)
Did not play against England

The big news however is that opener Virender Sehwag will continue to be at the sidelines in this tournament.

Zaheer and Ashwin replace Ashok Dinda and L Balaji who had played the final group match against England.

BREAKING NEWS:

According to reports coming in...Virender Sehwag will not play today's match. Zaheer Khan and R Ashwin come in.

Meanwhile, the match between Pakistan and South Africa is turning out to be a bowler's delight.

Do note that the second match of the day will be played on the same track. So, just for an indication:

South Africa scored only 133 runs after opting to bat. Saeed Ajmal had one wicket and Mohammad Hafeez claimed two.

In reply...Pakistan have lost four wickets already. So can we expect the big guns to fall silent in the second match as well?

Former Australian cricketers had already begun expressing their views on the match, in the run-up to the fourth Super 8 clash. While Greg Chappell called Virender Sehwag a 'lovable rogue' who cannot be expected to change his attitude towards the game, Shane Warne has also been quite active on his Twitter page.

Did you know?

A Sri Lankan man broke into the Australian dressing room today and makes indecent proposals to the cricketers. Read here

India captain MS Dhoni has hinted at playing five bowlers. Playing five bowlers means India will have to do away with one of the batsmen. Virender Sehwag was rested for the match against England. Will he play against Australia? And if Yes, who will pave his way for him? That's the biggest dilemma for India captain MS Dhoni.

Ladies and Gentlemen! When clock strikes 7:30 tonight, cricket fans will be in for a big treat. India vs Australia is nothing less than a Friday blockbuster..