Australia will watch on with bated breath as Afghanistan face Bangladesh, with their fate in the balance; India know that they will face England on Thursday
St Lucia: India 205-5, Australia 181-7 - India win by 24 runs
Australia's future in this T20 World Cup is hanging in the balance after they were brushed aside by a Rohit Sharma-inspired India in St Lucia.
Rohit, the India captain, belted 92 in 41 balls during an extraordinary display of stroke-play as India kept their unbeaten tournament going at the expense of Mitchell Marsh's side, who must now rely on the final game of the Super Eights to determine their position, despite the best efforts of Travis Head, India's scourge in last year's 50-over World Cup final.
An Afghanistan win over Bangladesh will seal a landmark semi-final berth for Rashid Khan's charges – their first in a World Cup – while Bangladesh could still feasibly qualify with a sizeable victory.
Australia will watch on with bated breath, their net run rate currently marginally superior – by 0.319 – to Afghanistan's, who will know what they have to do in order to make history.
India, who will face England in the second semi-final in Guyana on Thursday afternoon, were in control from the outset, however. Rohit took 29 from Mitchell Starc's second over, whacking seven fours and eight sixes in a 41-ball 92, dismissed eventually by a Starc yorker in the 12th over, by which point much of the damage had been done.
He pounced on Marcus Stoinis' use of the slower-ball bouncer and slog-swept both Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa – 40mph apart – for sixes over deep midwicket. Eight months on from losing to Australia in the 50-over World Cup final, he was playing a major part in leaving their semi-final spot up in the air.
Australia fell 24 runs short in St Lucia (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
Rohit had lost Virat Kohli to a five-ball duck, and Rishabh Pant made 15 off 14 balls, but Suryakumar Yadav added to the carnage, crashing three fours and two sixes in 16 balls, including an exquisite extra-cover drive that carried all the way. Rohit, meanwhile, appeared in an unstoppable mood until being castled.
A relative lull followed thereafter, with Shivam Dube and Suryakumar taking stock, but Dube launched Zampa over deep midwicket, while Hardik Pandya's 27 not out was the ideal cameo at the death. Stoinis finished with figures of 2 for 56, while Glenn Maxwell wasn't called upon.
Josh Hazlewood, to his significant credit, recorded figures of 1 for 14 in four overs.
A target of 206 was always a serious ask against a side with four overs of Jasprit Bumrah to use, and Australia lost David Warner to an Arshdeep Singh outswinger in the first over of the run-chase, playing what may well be the opener's final international innings. Marsh then survived a caught-and-bowled chance to Arshdeep, before depositing a blow out of the ground over the legside.
Australia's captain made 37 in a brutal 81-run partnership with Head, whose 76 meant that his side was always in the game while he was in the middle.
Maxwell contributed a quickfire 20 but was deceived by Kuldeep Yadav's googly, before Stoinis' difficult day ended when he reverse-swept straight at backward point.
Head then fell to Bumrah as the equation disappeared beyond Australia's control – they needed 56 off 21 when he fell – at which point the game was all but up. Matthew Wade and Tim David both went to Arshdeep, who finished with 3 for 37.
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