A mighty India exhibition of cricket, powered by Rohit Sharma, swept aside the Aussie threat in a 24-run convincing victory on Monday (June 24) in St Lucia.

Australia won the toss, bowled first and were given a reality check thanks to a masterclass from the Hitman (92). Adding the contributions of SKY (31), Shivan Dube (28) and Hardik Pandya (27), India mounted a towering 205/5 to defend.

Australia, on the other hand, saw their run-chase crumble down from 65/1 in the powerplay to 166/7 in 17.5 overs due to the impressive bowling strategies of Arshdeep Singh (3/37) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/24).

Here are the highlights of the #AUSvIND game.

Rohit brings the ‘HITMAN’ carnage in the powerplay

From his stunning comeback in the game against Bangladesh to his commanding performance tonight, Rohit Sharma has once again proven why he is the undisputed leader at the top. His 19-ball 50, which included a third-over domination of Mitchell Starc (6-6-4-6-0-wd-6), set the stage for India to finish with a score of 60/1. This was a performance that fans will remember for a long time.

A rampage to remember

Falling short of a well-deserved and committed century for Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain achieved these milestones in his knock of 92 runs in 41 balls.

- fastest fifty against AUS in all T20Is (19 balls)

- highest individual score (92) by an Indian captain in men’s T20 World Cups

- first men’s batter to hit 200 sixes in T20Is

- most sixes (8) by an Indian batter in a men’s T20 World Cup innings

- second-highest individual score (92) by an Indian batter in men’s T20 World Cups [after Suresh Raina (101)]

- third-fastest fifty in T20Is for India [after Yuvraj Singh (12 balls vs ENG, 2007) and KL Rahul (18 balls vs Scotland, 2021)]

- completed 19,000 international runs

SKY, Hardik ensure momentum remains strong

While Rishabh Pant (15 off 14 balls) and Shivam Dube (28 off 22 balls) played some able cameos with the bat, it was Aapla Dada Surya (16-ball 31) and Kung-fu Pandya (17-ball 27) who kept the run rate steady for the Men in Blue and propelled them on course to a first innings total of 205/5. This would be the joint-highest team total against Australia in men’s T20 World Cups (after West Indies' 205/4, 2012).

AUS limp to strong powerplay start

Having lost the wicket of David Warner early, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh got Australia back on its legs with a mini thrashing of the Indian bowlers. They ended the powerplay at 65/1.

The breakdown begins

Come the middle overs, the Aussies started to feel the pressure caving in. After Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell’s dismissals by Kuldeep Yadav, Australia struggled to find themselves hit the accelerator pedal.

Eventually, Marsh’s men would fizzle out to the bowling deliveries of Axar and Arshdeep as the lost four wickets - Stoinis, Head, Wade and David - between the 15th and 18th overs; meaning their counter-attacking force was taken down.

Come the final two overs, Pat Cummins tried to force a late comeback but it was too late. INDIA beat AUSTRALIA and put them on the verge of elimination. The Men in Blue confirmed their semi-final ticket and will now play England in Guyana on June 27.

Brief scores: India 205/5 (Rohit Sharma 92; Josh Hazlewood 1-14) BEAT Australia 181/7 (Travis Head 76; Arshdeep Singh 3/37) BY 24 RUNS.