India 3/ 321 (36.4 ov, Kohli 133*, Gambhir 63) beat Sri Lanka 4/ 320 (50 ov, Dilshan 160*, Sangakkara 105) by seven wickets: ODI 11/12 at Hobart.
Australia 19 points/7 matches, Sri Lanka 15/7, India 15/8.
This was a match which India , to have a chance of playing in the finals, had to win and win well enough to secure a bonus point. That they did after Sri Lanka had compiled 4/320 thanks to Tillakaratne Dilshan's 160*/165b (3x6, 11x4) and Kumara Sangakkara's 105/87b (2x6, 8x4), almost beggars belief.
But it happened. The top five all contributed at least 30 apiece and Virat Kohli excelled with 133/86b (2x6, 16x4) which knocked the stuffing out of the Sri Lankan bowling and fielding. Despite the magnitude of the task it never seemed beyond India's reach and, sooner than seemed likely, it came within their grasp as Kohli and his team mates took advantage of a good batting wicket and sub-ordinary bowling . Their fluent strokeplay seemed to draw in the boundaries to almost the dimensions of a tennis court: what stays in mind about Kohli is how many of his strokes went along the ground, not in the air. His was a memorable innings which has handed an inconsistent India a chance, subject to Australia beating Sri Lanka on Friday (or inclement weather preventing a result), of playing in the finals.
Relive some of the action on the Fox Sports video highlights (I expect that there'll be other highlights there for the searching onYouTube).
Scorecard
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