King Kohli steers India into World T20 semis

Mohali : Star batsman Virat Kohli produced a scintillating half-century as India stormed into the semifinals of the World Twenty20 after thumping Australia by six wickets in front of a jubilant crowd in Mohali on Sunday.Kohli continued to reprise his role as Australia’s tormentor-in-chief, smacking nine fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 82-run knock off just 51 balls to steer the hosts to victory with five balls remaining.Chasing a challenging target of 161, India top-order batsmen once again failed to click as they were reeling at 49-3 at 7.4 overs before Kohli engineered two crucial partnerships with Yuvraj Singh (21) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18 not out).Earlier, Indian bowlers made a brilliant comeback to restrict Australia to 160 for six despite a thunderous start given by Aaron Finch (43) and Usman Khwaja (26).For India, Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers by claiming two wickets, while Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh shared four wickets between them.With the win, India have set up a semifinal showdown against West Indies which will be played on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.