India lost its important World Cup Cricket super six match to Australia at the Oval on June 4, by a comprehensive 77 runs, endangering its chances of qualifying for the next, semi-final, stage of the ongoing tournament.

However, this is not the end of the road for India. If India wins its remaining two matches, against Pakistan on June 8 and against New Zealand on June 12, with a bit of luck, India can still make it to the semi final stage. In fact, if the statistical dice falls correctly, India can make it to the semi finals if it is careful from here on. But, there is definitely no room for error now.

Indian captain Azharuddin won the toss and put Australia in to bat. The decision was guided by the cloudy weather and the drizzle at that point of time which would have helped the Indian bowling. But the day cleared as the match began and the Australians piled up a substantial 282 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Mark Waugh was the highest scorer with 83 runs.

India began its run chase disastrously. McGrath was in full battle cry. He got both Sachin and Dravid to nick to the keeper. India lost four early wickets and were 17 for 4 at one stage. With Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Azhar back in the pavilion, India had no hope. It was sterling batting by Robin Singh (75) and Ajay Jadeja (100) that steadied the Indian boat. India ended at 205 all out in the 49th over.

This has wrecked India's net run rate as of now. India now has its work cut out in the next two matches, not only
to get four match points but also to recover its net run rate.

Moreover, India must now pray for that extra bit of luck that it badly needs. For India to qualify for the next stage of the world Cup 99, not only must it hope that it wins its remaining two matches, it must also hope that other teams competing for the fourth spot in the semi final stage, lose some of their matches.


Match Commentary & Scorecard

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