Australia rout India

CRICKET: BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, May 8, 2010 - David Warner smashed a rapid 72 as Australia thrashed India by 49 runs in the teams' opening Super Eights match in the World Twenty20 at the Kensington Oval here on Friday.

Left-handed opener Warner's innings was the top score in an Australia total of 184 for five built around his first wicket stand of 104 in 11 overs with Shane Watson (54) after India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss. In reply, India collapsed to 23 for four inside five overs as several batsmen miscued big shots in a bid to keep up with the run-rate.

India were eventually bowled out for 135, with Rohit Sharma (79 not out) and tailender Harbhajan Singh (13) the only batsmen to reach double figures.

Australia's victory maintained their perfect record at this World Twenty20 as India suffered their first defeat. In the end, India did well to hold Australia to a score under 200. "We started from the beginning, and there were some big shots," said man-of-the-match Warner, who faced just 41 balls and struck seven of the innings's 16 sixes. "We were 160 in the 16th over, but we felt what we got was enough with the pace on the wicket," explained Warner, eventually out when caught by wicketkeeper Dhoni off left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh.

Dhoni added: "Watson and Warner batted very well and took the game away from us. It started with a couple of overs that went for 40-odd runs. "We did well in the end to restrict them to 180." Fellow fast bowler Shaun Tait took three for 21, raising questions once more about India's ability to handle fast bowling on a lively surface that assisted the quicks but was no terror track.