“Obviously, it’s a good score when you’re playing on a ground like this, where wind is such a big factor, anything is possible,” he said.

Australia were on course for an unlikely victory as long was Travis Head was at his blazing best. He became the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 255 runs, but his dismissal on 76 from 43 balls with nine fours and four sixes left India in control.

In what could easily be his last game for Australia, David Warner went with a whimper, caught at slip for six following an outswinger from Arshdeep Singh.

Determined to lead from the front following a disappointing tournament, captain Mitchell Marsh was his usual bold self. He was dropped on five, flat-batting a hot caught and bowled back to Arshdeep, but later brilliantly caught on 37 from 28 balls with three fours and two sixes in what was his highest score of the tournament.

Marsh hammered a pull shot from left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav that appeared to be going for six. Axar Patel leapt in the air with both arms at full stretch, and the ball stuck in his right hand.

Glenn Maxwell continued Australia’s momentum, gliding a lovely four behind point from his first ball, which was spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s first of the game. The second ball was audaciously reverse-swept for six.

But Maxwell’s high-risk game proved his undoing, walking down the pitch to Yadav, only to be beaten by his wrong-up and bowled for 19 from 12 balls.

Australia’s task became more difficult when Marcus Stoinis, a match-winner earlier in the tournament, reverse-swept a catch off Patel’s left-arm spin for just two, leaving Australia 4-135 and needing 71 from 35 balls for victory.

Twice last year Australia had put India to the sword in world title matches, the World Test Championship final and one-day World Cup. Rohit was determined to hammer the world beaters into submission.

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He took a frightening four sixes and a four from Mitchell Starc’s second over, the third of the innings, romped to his 50 in just 19 balls, the fastest in this tournament, and sent India to 2-100 in just 8.4 overs.

It was an unwelcome return to the side for Starc, who had been left out of the previous match against Afghanistan for spinner Ashton Agar on the more bowler-friendly St Vincent pitch.

Starc claimed redemption of sorts, ripping a trademark yorker through the Indian captain that crashed into the stumps from an inside edge.

After that 29 from his second over, Starc finished with an almost respectable 2-45 on the good batting surface.

Josh Hazlewood returned an extraordinary 1-14 from his four overs and that wicket was Virat Kohli (0) with Hazlewood’s third ball in the second over of the match. Surprised by a short ball, Kohli skied a pull and Tim David ran back from mid-on to take a well-judged catch.

It left Kohli with just 66 runs at an average of 11 and strike rate of 100 for the tournament.

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