Cricket World Cup 2015: Steve Smith century ensures hosts have the final say

The joint hosts will contest the Cricket World Cup Final. Australia, as they have made a habit of doing throughout their summer, defeated India today by 95 runs to ensure they will meet New Zealand in Melbourne on Sunday.

It was often an absorbing match at the start but it petered out into a foregone conclusion with 10 overs left. While Australia did not have matters all their own way, they demonstrated that even in a mega-scoring tournament such as this, runs on the board count for much.

Their total of 328, not as great as it could and should have been, was always likely to be out of India’s reach on a pitch that was true but slowing down by the over. Steve Smith was its chief contributor with his first century of the tournament but his seventh of the international summer.

It was neatly composed, the assured work of a man who is in a long and seemingly endless streak of good form. Smith went along at more or less a run a ball throughout his innings until he put his foot on the gas towards its end.

Having reached three figures in the 34th over it was possible to speculate that the tournament may have another double hundred. But Smith was out in the following over, having made 105 from 89 balls in a second wicket partnership of 182 with a less assured Aaron Finch, when he mistimed a pull shot.

It caused momentary confusion in Australia’s order and though Glenn Maxwell hit breezily enough they were pegged back between the 38th and 43rd overs when they lost three more wickets for only 16 runs with Umesh Yadav generating discomfiting pace.