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Australia winning the toss came as a blessing in disguise for India in their T20 World Cup Super 8 clash at the at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia on Monday, June 24. Indian captain Rohit Sharma went on the offensive against Australia, launching a brutal attack on Mitchell Starc. With India at a precarious 5-1 after losing Virat Kohli early, Rohit decided to take the fight to the opposition. Starc found himself at the receiving end of some powerful hitting, conceding a hefty 28 runs in a single over during the powerplay.
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Rohit Sharma unleashed a flurry of boundaries against Mitchell Starc in the 3rd over, turning the tide of the Indian innings. The first ball disappeared over extra cover for a six, a clear statement of intent. The second ball saw him loft Starc over the offside once more. Starc tried to adjust his line, but Rohit countered with a powerful mid-on drive for four off the third delivery. The carnage continued with a monstrous six over deep mid-wicket off the fourth ball, the mighty shot traveling a staggering 96 meters. A single dot ball offered a brief respite before Starc lost his control completely. A wide delivery followed and then came the final blow – Rohit top-edged a loose ball over the ropes for another six, capping off a phenomenal 28-run over for India.
The momentum continued for Rohit as he dispatched a six off Pat Cummins' very first delivery in the next over. However, rain intervened at the St. Lucia stadium, forcing a halt to play just as Rohit was seemingly on a revenge mission, perhaps looking to avenge India's loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup final last year.
Rohit unleashed fury on Mitchell Starc
The weather cleared but Rohit's onslaught didn't stop as he continued to crack whip on Australia ballers. As of 10 overs Rohit was 89 off 37 with India's scoreboard reading 114/2. However, Rohit departed after scoring 92 off 41 but India ended up posting a total of 205. Later despite Travis Head's heroics Australia lost to India by 24 runs.
Meanwhile, India didn't tinker with their playing XI and played the same team that they played against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh included Mitchell Starc in Australia's playing XI in place of Ashton Agar.
After winning the toss, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said:
“We are going to bowl first. Looks a belter, it looks lovely. It's a quarte final, looking forward to it, big challenge against India. We have had ourselves in this situation before, every game is a must-win now. We got an experienced group, a great staff. Starc comes in for Agar.”
Meanwhile, after losing the toss, India skipper Rohit Sharma, said:
“We would have fielded first as well, looks a bit sticky. We wanted to chase. We know what exactly we are doing, will try to do our best. I hope it doesn't change much. The overhead conditions also matter in this part of the world. We have adapted well, hopefully another game where we put up a show. Every game matters in this tournament, nothing changes. We are playing the same team.”
India's Playing XI
Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia's Playing XI
Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh(c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
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