India 261 for 5 (Yuvraj 57*, Tendulkar 53, Gambhir 50) beat Australia 260 (Ponting 104, Haddin 53, Ashwin 2-52, Yuvraj 2-44) by 5 wickets
An awe-inspiring Ricky Ponting dazzled and Sachin Tendulkar hit a delightful fifty but it was Yuvraj Singh who stole the show to lead India to an exciting semi-final encounter against Pakistan. On a dry pitch, aiding turn, India couldn't remove a wonderfully solid Ponting, but found a way around him to hold Australia to a competitive 260. Tendulkar set the base and the middle order threatened to choke, but Yuvraj played a blinder to charge India to a famous win.
Sometimes, they say, one four can change things around. That cliché came alive today, in the final ball of the 39th over, with India needing 72 from 67 deliveries, when Yuvraj spanked Shaun Tait for a stunning four over backward point. It oozed of skill, impishness and dare under fire. Until then, in the preceding few overs, India choked and spluttered badly to almost hand the game to Australia. That Yuvraj hit over point sensationally turned the game on its head. The next over proved to be the game-breaker as Brett Lee was looted for 14 runs: Suresh Raina played the most assured pull of his life to crash the first delivery to the boundary and Yuvraj carved the final delivery over point, but it was a shot in between that really reflected the enthralling contest. It was a screaming yorker from Lee, from around the stumps, and Yuvraj crouched, opened the bat-face and stabbed it through to the third man boundary. Lee looked stunned, and you felt that was the moment when India affected the jail break.
Until Yuvraj took ownership of the chase, the pressure-cooker situation had got to India and they were beginning to choke. In five mad overs between the 32nd and 37th, just after Virat Kohli had swiped a full toss from David Hussey straight to midwicket in the 29th over, it was absolute pandemonium as India looked hell bent on self-destruction. Gautam Gambhir tried to run himself out three times and was successful on the final attempt. In the 32nd over, he ran for a non-existent run after Yuvraj had played the ball towards midwicket but Ponting missed the sticks. In the next over, he got into a yes-and-no situation with Yuvraj and would have been run out had Brad Haddin, who dashed to the short mid-on region, thrown it at the non-striker's end. Gambhir was run out next ball, again running mindlessly after Yuvraj stabbed David Hussey wide of the first slip. India required 93 runs from 101 balls at that stage, but they slipped further into the abyss as MS Dhoni got out after looking edgy. He nearly got involved in a run out, had a big swing and a miss against Lee and perished next delivery, cutting to point to leave India needing 74 from 75 balls. It was then that Yuvraj decided to play the World Cup innings of his life.
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Sachin Tendulkar threatened to take ownership of the chase with a delightful fifty, but Shaun Tait dismissed him in the 19th over to bring Australia back in the game in Motera. Australia hustled the Indians in the field, with spirited fielding and disciplined bowling, and cracked open the game by getting Tendulkar out. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli ensured that Tendulkar's exit didn't spark a collapse by batting sensibly to push India to 123 for 2 by the half-way stage. The pitch was increasingly aiding big turn - a few times there was a visible puff of dust flying out of the rough - and much will depend not only on the Indian middle order but also on how the Australians, with just one regular spinner in Jason Krejza, exploit the track.
The first half was all about Australia v Tendulkar. It was yet another one of those modern Tendulkar knocks, where he unfurled several quality shots but none seemed risky. It was a slow pitch but Tendulkar played some shots that defied the nature of the track. He pulled, created room where none seemed to exist and jumped at every opportunity to drive. Australia never relented, though, and always continued to hustle. It was Shane Watson who first pegged back the run-rate by dismissing Virender Sehwag, and he reined in the batsmen further with his changes of pace, before Tait delivered the sucker punch by dismissing Tendulkar.
Tait v Tendulkar lived up to the billing. Tendulkar punched the first delivery he faced, and the first from Tait, through cover point. He upper cut the next legal delivery to the third man boundary. Tait sledged, Tendulkar stared, and the chase was soaked with intensity from then on. Tait was soon taken out off the attack but returned to silence the crowd. He gave away six runs in his first over on return that included two wides and also saw Tendulkar getting to his fifty. He struck with the first ball of his next over - a delivery released from a slightly round-armish action that held its line outside off stump. Tendulkar tried to steer it to point but edged it to Brad Haddin.
Until that moment, Tendulkar looked rock solid. He handled Brett Lee with respect, played Watson with caution and looted a few boundaries from Mitchell Johnson. Sehwag, who was relatively circumspect today, fell in the ninth over, top-edging a pull off Watson, and Tendulkar responded to that adversity by caressing a four through the covers in the same over. When Gautam Gambhir looked scratchy at the start, Tendulkar settled the nerves with a few fours. He scored successive boundaries off Johnson in the 12th over: a wristy on-drive to a full-length delivery outside off and a crunched drive through point. Australia kept coming at him at full tilt, and eventually Tait got him out to leave the game fascinatingly poised.
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