India 5 for 234 (Chopra 76) beat Australia 7 for 218 (Blackwell 54) by 16 runs

Australia’s defence of the World Cup is virtually over after they were outplayed by a well-rounded India in their opening Super Six game at North Sydney Oval yesterday. Anjum Chopra’s 76 guided the visitors before they crashed 73 in the final seven overs to finish with 5 for 234 and the hosts scraped 7 for 218 in their second defeat of the tournament.

The result leaves Australia on two points with a couple of Super Six matches to go and they must win both and hope that two of England (6) New Zealand (4) and India (4) stumble. There are no semi-finals and Australia will be out of the competition if eight points are needed to reach next Sunday’s decider.