GROS-ISLET, Saint Lucia: Rohit Sharma led from the front with a blistering 92 as India beat Australia by 24 runs in St. Lucia on Monday to seal their place in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup.
The India captain’s dashing innings — he faced just 41 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes — was the cornerstone of a total of 205-5 made after he lost the toss.
Australia eventually finished their reply on 181-7, with left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh taking 3-37.
India will now face defending champions England in Thursday’s semifinal in Guyana.
Defeat meant Australia’s fate was no longer in their own hands.
Afghanistan, who produced a stunning upset in beating Australia by 21 runs last time out, will qualify for the semifinals if they defeat Bangladesh later Monday in the concluding Group One game of the Super Eights.
Australia lost David Warner for just six when the veteran left-handed opener was undone by a full-length delivery from Arshdeep that he could only edge to Suryakumar Yadav at slip.
Travis Head, whose superb century crushed Indian dreams of a 50-over World Cup final win on home soil last year, kept Australia in the hunt with a well-made 76 off 43 balls.
His second-wicket stand of 81 with skipper Mitchell Marsh looked to be turning the tide.
But Marsh was brilliantly caught one-handed on the boundary by a leaping Axar Patel off Kuldeep Yadav for 37.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep then bowled dangerman Glenn Maxwell for 20 with a superb ‘wrong-un’ on his way to fine figures of 2-24 in his maximum four overs.
And when Head holed out off a superbly-disguised slower ball from paceman Jasprit Bumrah, Australia were all but beaten at 150-5 in the 17th over.
Earlier, India star batsman Virat Kohli holed out for a five-ball duck off Josh Hazlewood, with Tim David taking a fine running catch over his shoulder.
But fellow opener Rohit then cut loose. He was particularly severe on Mitchell Starc, the only change to the Australia team following their upset defeat by Afghanistan.
He hit the left-arm fast bowler for 29 runs in a third over where he struck four sixes — two in successive balls over extra-cover, a monster hit over deep midwicket and a top-edged full toss over the wicketkeeper.
But with Rohit threatening the first hundred of this tournament, Starc bowled him with an excellent yorker.
Rohit stars as India beat Australia to reach T20 World Cup semifinals
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Rohit stars as India beat Australia to reach T20 World Cup semifinals
- India captain’s dashing innings — he faced just 41 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes — was the cornerstone of a total of 205-5
- Australia eventually finished their reply on 181-7, with left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh taking 3-37
Mohammed Ben Sulayem re-elected as president of FIA
- He starts his second 4-year term following the election of his presidential list by the General Assembly in Tashkent
DUBAI: FIA, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organizations worldwide, today confirmed that Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been re-elected as its president, following the election of his presidential list by the General Assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Ben Sulayem now begins his second four-year term, having overseen a period of significant renewal and stabilization for the organization since his initial election in 2021.
Over the past four years, FIA has undergone a wide-ranging transformation, improving governance and operations and restoring the financial health of the federation. These changes have strengthened FIA’s position as the world’s governing body for motorsport and the leading authority on safe, sustainable, and affordable mobility.
Under Ben Sulayem’s leadership, FIA reversed a $28 million loss in 2021 to a robust operating result of $5.5 million in 2024, the strongest financial result the federation has seen in almost 10 years.
At the FIA Annual General Assemblies, the organization announced a 2025 operating result forecast of $5.1 million, showing continued momentum and sustained financial improvement. This renewed stability has enabled increased long-term investment in member clubs and strategic programs worldwide.
Underpinning this momentum is wider institutional reform over the last four years, with strengthened budgetary discipline, enhanced external audit processes and modernized governance structures, resulting in greater transparency, accountability and professional standards across the organization.
In addition to these reforms, FIA has established a commercial function and strengthened its global institutional identity across both motorsport and mobility, expanding regional development activity, supporting grassroots participation, and deepening engagement with international partners on safety, sustainable mobility and the future of transport.
Ben Sulayem said: “Thank you to all our FIA members for voting in remarkable numbers and placing your trust in me once again. We have overcome many obstacles, but here today, together, we are stronger than ever.
“It is truly an honor to be FIA president, and I am committed to continuing to deliver for the FIA, for motorsport, for mobility, and for our member clubs in every region around the world.”
