17th over India 85-2 (Kohli 24, Shreyas 23) Target 265 Another good, tight over from Zampa, three singles from it, but with the partnership 42 off 55, Auastralia could very much use a wicket.

16th over India 82-2 (Kohli 23, Shreyas 21) Target 265 Several overs ago, when Hayden was talking about misjudging catches, I meant to embed the below, but it’s always good whenever you see it. He told me that he got his feet wrong for this one, which is why he had to reach over his head – it’s lucky he did. Meantime, back in the middle, Smith decides India are milking Connolly, replacing him with Ellis, and three singles follows. Then, offered a final delivery that sits up, Kohlia nails a booming pull for four, and, after 16 overs, India are exactly where Australia were.

15th over India 75-2 (Kohli 18, Shreyas 19) Target 265 Today is Shane Warne’s third yahrzeit; rest well, old mate, and in celebration of him, below is a little reader from Joy of Six: genius. Anyhow, India again accumulate in singles, then Kohli plays down the wrong line having failed to detect Zampa’s wrongun and there’s a big appeal – smith really likes it – but when the umpire says no, Australia opt not to review probably correctly, as I think the ball was going down.

14th over India 71-2 (Kohli 16, Shreyas 17) Target 265 Smith, bored of India’s batters shoving easy singles down the ground, slots Maxwell in to stop them, so Kohli takes one to deep point instead. This brings Shreyas on to strike and he moves about to Connolly off his line and length, then does really well to wait for one, opening the face at the last moment to ease four through backward point. Two singles follow, and that’s a much better over for India, seven form it.

13th over India 64-2 (Kohli 14, Shreyas 11) Target 265 The best time to bat on this ground, in this format, is at the start of an innings, and Australia’s spinners have put a bit of a strangle on, another over yielding nothing but singles and only three of them too. At this stage, Australia were 74-2.

12th over India 62-2 (Kohli 12, Shreyas 11) Target 265 A single down the ground to Kohli, then one to Shreyas, then one to Kohli. This is a really good contest.

11th over India 58-2 (Kohli 10, Shreyas 10) Target 265 Yup, we said this passage could be key, and with Smith introducing Zampa, it now feels keyer. Kohli takes his loosener for a single to cover, then Shreyas presses forward, waits, and cuts two to deep point. Those are the only runs off the over.

10th over India 55-2 (Kohli 9, Shreyas 8) Target 265 India are a little rattled, Shreyas flinging hands – or, in the event, a hand – at a slightly wider one and, though it rushes away for four, it was a risk he didn’t really did need to take. But when Connolly sends him a high full-toss, he has plenty of time to hump it to deep square for four, making this a decent over for India.

9th over India 47-2 (Kohli 9, Shreyas 0) Target 265 Ellis has been getting a bit of movement and he spirits one past Kohli’s outside edge. But despite five dots, there’s not a chance he’s being allowed to complete a maiden and, when he’s fuller and straighter, he’s blasted back over his head, one-handed. You could knock down walls with that lad’s forearms.

8th over India 43-2 (Kohli 5, Shreyas 0) Target 265 Already, this next passage feels key. If Australia can muster another wicket, India will have a problem – though they bat down to Jadeja at eight.

IT’S DEAD!

ROHIT REVIEWS!

WICKET! Sharma lbw b Connolly28 (India 43-2)

8th over India 43-1 (Rohit 28, Kohli 5) Target 265 Connolly into the attack, a good move from Smith in that he’ll be stewing over that missed catch so could use the diversion. And he starts well too, a single to midwicket the only run from his first three balls.

7th over India 42-1 (Rohit 28, Kohli 4) Target 265 Kohli and Sharma knock Dwarshuis around, three singles making this a good over for Australia.

“I have never been against Australia,” confesses Aidan McNally, “unless they are playing England. What India have done here is an abomination. If they weren’t holding the purse strings it would never have happened. C’mon Aussie!!”

I don’t know – I totally understand why keeping everyone safe is the most important thing.

6th over India 39-1 (Rohit 27, Kohli 2) Target 265 Looking again, that was a really poor shot from Gill, who was tentative or casual in allowing ball to hit bat. But Australia must now find a way to bin Virat Kohli, the king of the run-chase, who, after a wide, gets off the mark via run-down, and life doesn’t really get much better than these two, chasing together in a semi. And as I type, Ellis, having ceded a run a ball in this over, runs in to finish it off … and Rohit twinkles down, annihilating four down the ground as the umpire hits the deck in terror.

WICKET! Gill b Dwarshuis 8 (India 30-1)

5th over India 30-0 (Rohit 21, Gill 8) Target 265 Gill’s been quiet so far, but after a wide, he charges Dwarshuis and, with his customary ludicrous hand-speed, plays almost a tennis shot, carting four to wide long-off. A single follows, then Rohit goes forward and across, looking to haul over the off-side only to inside-edge past off-peg … for four. Another inside edge then adds one more to the total.

4th over India 19-0 (Rohit 16, Gill 3) Target 265 That dropped catch was not unlike this one though, it’s worth noting that, as Matthew Hayden points out, Labuschange got just a little ahead of the ball so wore the catch “on the drumsticks”. Meantime, Ellis bowls a much better over, three dots then a very serious globule, just shy of a length and moving away from Rohit; two singles follow. This is shaping up nicely.

3rd over India 17-0 (Rohit 15, Gill 2) Target 265 Cooper Connolly is quite a name; wearing it’ll feel like doddle, though, if Rohit bats for an hour. Dwarshuis, though, responds with a good, tight over, just a single from it, then Rohit again goes over the top, this time on the off side, and Labuschagne, sprinting from mid off is after it! He gets there too, diving forward and full-length as it drops … getting both hands to it … and shelling the chance! You can’t really criticse him for that, and at the same time, if you’re going to beat India at this, you can’t be turning down chances like that.

2nd over India 15-0 (Rohit 14, Gill 1) Target 265 In comms, they cite as key the three overs that saw Smith and Maxwell go, and that’s fair enough; for what it’s worth, the moment I the total would be shy was when Inglis chipped to Kolhi. Anyroad, Ellis’s second delivery is back of a length and outside off, doing nothing, so Rohit smokes over cow for six. But what’s this? Next ball, he cuts hard, and a backward point Connolly is right there … only to get himself into a frightful tangle, somehow crossing hands and grassing the opportunity. He looks extremely poorly and with good reason: the India skipper is not someone you want to give a life.

1st over India 7-0 (Rohit 7, Gill 0) Target 265 Immediately, Dwarshuis is on the money, but his second delivery seams on to the pads and Rohit doesn’t need asking twice, flicking four through fine leg. Then, again offered a ball that floats towards the pads, he lofts over midwicket for three, and that’s a decent start from India.

And play…

And here come the batters. A fast start from them and it’ll be hard to see India losing.

Australia huddle. They know the left 20 or 30 runs out there, but they’ll expect to win because that’s what they do.

“Nothing speaks to the state of India’s influence on cricket today more than me, as a Kiwi, crying out the words C’MON STRAYA!”

I have a rule in situations such as this: no first names, no nicknames, yes insults after the exhortations, i.e. “C’MON STRAYA YOU [REDACTED]!”

I put my Friday night chicken soup on this morning, so my entire gaff now hums of something delicious that I can’t touch. This chase had better be diverting.

“SA prospects for tomorrow,” begins John Starbuck. “On TMS they are talking about tomorrow’s game and are, very deliberately, avoiding ‘the C word’. Sensitivity, eh?”

I’m looking forward to that one. My guess is SA lose, but in acceptable circumstances.

A question: is it just me, or has Steve Smith got hench? Watch out Chris Tremlett.

Thanks Daniel and good morrow everyone. You’d take 265 to win a semi, but you’d not mind 264 runs on the board in a semi either. The problem Australia have is that, Zampa aside, they’re struggling for wicket-takers, and in India they’re facing the one-day experts on a decent track that suits them, on a ground they’re well used to.

Australia all-out for 264

49th over: Australia 262-9 (Zampa 6, Sangha 0) Shami ends with 3-48 from his 10. He bowled brilliantly throughout the innings. Ellis spanked him for six, but like most Indian bowlers who have hit for a maximum, he got his man in the end.

WICKET! Ellis c Kohli b Shami 10 (Australia 262-9)

48th over: Australia 252-8 (Zampa 4, Ellis 2) Without Carey, anything from here will be a bonus. Pandya did well to only concede four runs from that over. Some cute slower balls, including the short ball that had Carey pulling before he was run-out.

WICKET! Carey run-out (Iyer) 60 (Australia 248-8)

47th over:Zampa manages to get off strike from the second ball, a leading edge past mid-off and a quick scamper brings Carey back on strike. Carey then plays a perfect premeditated scoop that comfortably clears the fielder at short fine leg for a one-bounce four. A well-directed yorker keeps Carey honest before a single keeps him on strike for the next over. Zampa has one ball to survive but is given out lbw! He reviews and is saved by a thick inside edge. He knew straight away. Would have been plumb without it.

46th over: Australia 242-7 (Carey 55, Zampa 2) Varun signs off with 2-49 from his 10. Brilliant bowling from the mystery spinner. Zampa the new man has one job: feed Carey the strike!

“Hello Daniel”

Hi Krishna Moorthy, what’s up?

“I have nothing against the Indian team in general. They are, at best, as toxic as the Australians. I would still want the latter to win, as the highhanded attitude of ICC led by Jay Shah must end. I want the final in Pakistan.”

Unless the Australians can do something special with the ball, it’ll be India in the final.

WICKET! Dwarshuis c Iyer b Varun 19 (Australia 239-7)

45th over: Australia 239-6 (Carey 54, Dwarshuis 19) Excellent from Shami. Returns with a yorker from round the wicket that Dwarshuis does well to keep out. An inside edge almost finds the stumps and ends with a single. A couple of slower balls and it’s just five singles from the over. Just what India need. They’ve done brilliant to take back control of this innings.

44th over: Australia 234-6 (Carey 52, Dwarshuis 16) They start this Varun over with a boundary as Dwarshuis runs one fine down to deep third. A catcher in place might have gobbled it, but of course there isn’t one there at this stage. He gets a single before Carey crouches low to scoop a couple over the ‘keeper’s head.

43rd over: Australia 227-6 (Carey 50, Dwarshuis 11) POWER from Dwarshuis as he hammers a sweep over midwicket. Yadav oushed it wider but the big lad managed to get a big chunk of it. Carey brings up his 50 from 48 balls with a clip off his pads after collecting two past midwicket.

42nd over: Australia 217-6 (Carey 47, Dwarshuis 4) Varun has been excellent all day. Another over with a range of tricks costs just three singles. Carey is trying to manipulate the angles needed to the field is set perfectly and Varun is bowling accordingly.

41st over: Australia 214-6 (Carey 45, Dwarshuis 3) Time for one last mini rebuild here. Yadav returns and sends down a miserly set that costs just one run. No major harm as far as the Aussies are concerned. They’ll need Carey in for the final over so chance for a deep breath before the final plunge.

40th over: Australia 213-6 (Carey 44, Dwarshuis 3) Carey brings out the reverse sweep and nails it. Axar can only stand and admire as it races to the boundary. Tight lines otherwise and the Aussies settle for a pair of singles.

39th over: Australia 207-6 (Carey 39, Dwarshuis 2) Tight from Shami as he concedes just one single to the new man Dwarshuis. A neat tuck off his pads. He has to stick around with Carey for as long as he can.