GROS ISLET, St. Lucia, June 25, (AP): Afghanistan edged Bangladesh to reach the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals for the first time and followed India into the last four following a combination of results that eliminated 2021 champion Australia.

Captain Rohit Sharma bludgeoned 92 off 41 balls to lead India to a 24-run win over Australia in St. Lucia.
Afghanistan advanced when it beat Bangladesh by eight runs with seven balls remaining in a thrilling, rain-affected match at Kingstown, St. Vincent, to conclude the Super Eight stage.

At times in the match, the fate of the Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Australia teams all hung in the balance, with all three in semifinal contention depending on the result.
But it was finally Afghanistan that went through to a semifinal Wednesday against South Africa. Unbeaten India will play defending champion England on Thursday.

Sharma posted this tournament’s fastest half-century - off 19 deliveries - and finished with eight sixes and seven boundaries as India plundered 205-5.
Travis Head kept Australia in the chase with a blistering 76 off 43 balls, but his teammates choked against spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2-24) and Axar Patel (1-21) to be restricted at 181-7.

"It’s quite satisfying, especially when you play like that,” Sharma said. "We don’t want to do anything different (in the semifinals), we want to play the same way, understand what the individuals need to do in a given situation, and play freely.”

Sharma set the tone when he smashed Mitchell Starc's second over for 29 runs, including three sixes.
Virat Kohli was out for his second duck in the tournament, caught at midwicket off a Josh Hazlewood short ball. Kohli has just 66 runs in six games but fellow veteran Sharma was held back only by a five-minute rain delay.