WT20 Today: Semi-final match-ups take shape

LAST NIGHT

Spirited Afghanistan upset former champions West Indies at the World Twenty20 with a thrilling six-run victory in their last Group 1 match.

Afghanistan's four-pronged spin attack led by 17-year-old Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who returned identical figures of 2-26, restricted the West Indies to 8-117 on a turning wicket after Najibullah Zadran's 48 off 40 balls earlier anchored them to 7-123.

Despite the defeat, West Indies topped Group 1 on a superior net run-rate than England as both teams finished on six points with one defeat and three victories.

After their match the West Indies sat back to watch the big India v Australia showdown knowing they would meet the winner in the second semi-final at Mumbai next Thursday.

In Mohali expectations were high in both camps. But Virat Kohli enhanced his reputation as one of modern cricket's marvels, scoring 82 off 51 balls to steer India into the World T20 semi-finals at the expense of Australia.

Superb strokes, hard running, calmness and a touch of aggro were the hallmarks of Kohli's masterclass, which lifted India to a six-wicket win with five balls remaining at Mohali.

It followed Australia's total of 6-160, which could have been bigger after a blazing start but nonetheless looked immense when India required 39 runs from the final three overs.

The pool clash was essentially a quarter-final. The sold-out crowd was heaving, even by Indian standards, and James Faulkner had the ball in hand. Kohli belted Faulkner all over the park, reducing the victory equation to 20 off the final two overs.

The gifted batsman attacked Nathan Coulter-Nile with similar success the following over; sinking to his knees when MS Dhoni struck the winning runs.

Shane Watson starred in the topsy-turvy tussle, winding the clock back in his final game for Australia.

Watson removed Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina in a haul of 2-23, while he claimed a scrambling one-handed catch to dismiss hobbled veteran Yuvraj Singh.

The 27-year-old seems to save his best for Australia and this dig was no exception, he rowed with Glenn Maxwell after taking exception with a return but never lost his cool.

Kohli picked gaps no matter what fields Smith set, turned ones into twos and stroked 11 boundaries in a man-of-the-match effort.

Australia were denied by a superstar who averages 122.83 in successful T20 chases for India but they should have set a more imposing target.

Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch blitzed the opening stanza, bringing up their 50-run partnership in just 3.4 overs after Smith won the toss.

Momentum shifted dramatically after Khawaja was caught behind.

Smith, David Warner and Aaron Finch, who top-scored with 43, all fell in a slump of 3-28.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT

PIC OF THE NIGHT

James Faulkner and Virat Kohli have had their battles during matches before - Kohli's famous "I've smashed you enough in my life" sledge will live long in cricket's lexicon. And while this isn't quite another Lee-Flintoff moment, it goes to show that although the teams play hard, they play fair and cricket always ends with a handshake. Sometimes you just have to accept your opponent was too good.

Image Id: ~/media/8866BB3360D1479DBA3DE30A7F5B4B61 Image Caption: Kohli shakes hands with Faulkner after India's win in Mohali // Getty

AUSTRALIA'S MEN

There will be plenty of licking of the wounds for Australia's men today and a post-mortem of the campaign before players begin to disperse. The majority of Australia's 15-man squad will remain in India for the Indian Premier League, which starts next week.

The men's team's next engagement will be a one-day international tri-series with the West Indies and South Africa in the Caribbean in June.

AUSTRALIA'S WOMEN

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars spent their day off making a 12-hour return journey to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. However not everything went according to plan when the team bus rear-ended the police escort, resulting in a 40-minute delay.

It resulted in a smashed back window for the police car, but the uninjured Australians were able to see the funny side, filling in the time it took to complete some repairs with an impromptu road-side Easter egg hunt – Elyse Villani emerging a narrow winner ahead of captain Meg Lanning.

It will be back to business today for the Southern Stars, with two tough days of training ahead of them in Delhi before they meet old foes England at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday afternoon in their World T20 semi-final.

TONIGHT'S MATCHES

With semi-finalists in both the men's and women's competition already decided, tonight's matches are for little more than pride. South Africa have joined Australia in being semi-finalists at last year's 50-over World Cup to exit at the Super 10 stage in the World T20, while the defending champions Sri Lanka were also knocked out by England. The Proteas and Sri Lanka meet tonight in a men's and women's double-header, the women play in Bangalore (9pm AEDT) while the men are in Delhi (1am Tuesday AEDT). Coverage of both starts on Fox Sports 5 from 8.50pm. 

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