Steve Smith starred and Aaron Finch found form as Australia posted a total of 7-328 in their Cricket World Cup semi-final against India at the SCG.
Smith and Finch shared a 182-run stand in Thursday’s semi-final, making a mockery of an Indian attack that had banked a total of 70 wickets from their seven wins during the tournament.
Smith looked a class above the opposition until holing out for 105, his highest one-day international score and first ton of the event.
Finch wasn’t quite as convincing early, but grew in stature with every delivery before falling for 81.
Umesh Yadav spearheaded a bold Indian fightback, taking four wickets to curtail Australia’s momentum after Smith helped the hosts stroll to a score of 1-197 after 34 overs.
Yadav removed Smith and Finch with short balls, while Glenn Maxwell was promoted up the order but picked out Ajinkya Rahane in the deep after a quickfire 23.
When Michael Clarke’s pull shot ended in the hands of Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket, Australia were 5-248 with 47 balls remaining and the game in the balance.
Boundaries from Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson pushed Australia well beyond 300, but the visitors will be content to have conceded 95 runs from the final 12 overs.
Earlier on Thursday, Clarke couldn’t get the words “we’ll have a bat” out quick enough after winning the toss.
Former South African skipper Graeme Smith dubbed it the “driest” Australian pitch he had seen.
The expectation of most pundits was another run-fest.
In keeping with that theme, David Warner helped himself to 11 runs off Yadav’s opening over.
Warner became the first of six Australian batsmen to be out caught the next time he was on strike, with Virat Kohli snaffling a leading edge in the covers.
From the moment Smith was able to get off the mark – taking off for a single like his life depended on it and scampering back for a second – he looked like a man on a mission.
It was in Sydney that Smith capped an astonishing Test series against India, lifting his total to 769 runs to break all manner of records.
Smith outlined in the lead-up to the game his plan to keep “crunching India around the park”.
As was the case throughout the Test series, the 25-year-old lived up to his promise.
Mohammed Shami and Yadav had their moments early, but Smith kept the scoreboard ticking over with remarkable composure given the occasion.
Smith’s half-century came off 52 deliveries, while he started to tee off late and needed just 89 balls to reach three figures.
With the exception of reviewing a lbw appeal against Finch that proved to be ‘umpire’s call’, India never looked like breaking the crucial partnership until Smith mistimed a pull shot.
Kohli will be cursing a catch he put down in the deep during the final over, with Johnson hammering a six and a four after Brad Haddin’s reprieve.
