Australia's T20 World Cup Hopes Rest on Bangladesh Victory

Australia's T20 World Cup hopes now hinge on the outcome of the Afghanistan-Bangladesh match after they suffered a 24-run defeat to India in their must-win Super 8 clash.

The Aussies ended their Super 8 campaign with just one victory in three matches and now require Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan and become the second team from Group 1 to qualify for the semifinals.

Australia will fail to reach the last four if Afghanistan, who defeated them by 21 runs in a stunning upset last time out, beat Bangladesh in the concluding game of the Super Eights stage.

Despite the defeat, Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh said his team technically still stands a chance for the last four berth and expressed his support for Bangladesh to win.

"It's disappointing. Still technically a chance to go through, and today India got the better of us. I think over the course of 40 overs there's a lot of small margins, but honestly, India were the better team," Marsh said at the post-match presentation.

He also lavished praise on Indian captain Rohit Sharma for his blistering knock of 92, emphasizing the impact he can have on the game once he settles in at the crease.

"We've seen for 15 years what Rohit Sharma can do in that kind of mood, and he got off to an absolute flier. In a run chase like that, you're in it if you can keep it at tens for as long as possible, but India were too good for us. Come on, Bangladesh!"

Rohit led from the front with a 41-ball knock, including seven fours and eight sixes, as his side posted a total of 205-5.

Australia was then held to 181-7, with opener Travis Head top-scoring with 76 in an innings where left-arm paceman Arshdeep Singh took 3-37.

India will now play defending champions England in Thursday's semi-final in Guyana.

Tags: #T20WorldCup, #Super8, #Australia, #India, #Bangladesh