Ricky Ponting, after scoring his century, on Thursday

Ahmedabad: Yuvraj Singh went down on his knees the moment he smashed Brett Lee to the cover boundary. He pumped his clenched fist, waved his bat in the air before giving Suresh Raina a tight hug.

Australia’s 12-year reign as world champions ended at the Motera.

The 74-run unbroken partnership between Man of the Match, Yuvraj (57 not out) and Raina (34 not out), clinched a five-wicket victory, which, at one point, looked improbable on Thursday evening.

Ricky Ponting may have secured his captaincy for the time being with a century but couldn’t save the defending champions from the blushes.

One down, two to go. Pakistan will be up next in the semi-final in Mohali.

The “Australian way”, as Ricky Ponting would love to call it, was very much on view. Words exchanged at the provocation of his own men, sledging, fiery short-pitched bowling and Ponting claiming a catch off Gautam Gambhir when the ball had clearly bounced into his hands. But nothing could unsettle the Indians on this day. They looked determined and unflappable in their quest for success.

At 187 for five in the 38 th over when Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed, the pressure suddenly seemed to be on the Indians. Yuvraj and Suresh Raina though kept their cool to unnerve the Aussies with some positive batting.

Australia’s ploy of using the short-pitched stuff against the Indian batsmen didn’t pay off on this slow wicket. Sachin used the pull and upper cut against the Lees and the Taits to ruin their line and length. That put Ponting’s plan in disarray as the spinners proved to be ordinary despite the wicket aiding turn.

It was one of those typical knocks from Sachin where he adjusted to the pace of the wicket and didn’t curb his attacking ways. In the process, he completed 18,000 one-day runs. Tait tried to disturb his concentration with some mouth-watering stuff, but Sachin remained nonchalant.

Sachin, however, couldn’t capitalise after being let off by Jason Krejza at third man off Lee, when on 47. Six runs later, he nicked to Haddin. There was a ray of hope when the umpire called for a replay to check if Tait had no balled. But the Aussies celebrated after it was discovered that the pacer hadn’t grounded his back heel on the line. Fifity three off 68 balls and time for Sachin to go.

Watson had provided the early breakthrough dismissing Virender Sehwag, but Sachin and Gautam Gambhir tried to bring some semblance of sanity with a 50-run stand. Once Sachin left, and Virat Kohli needlessly played into the hands of short mid-wicket, Gambhir committed suicide.

Having dominated the attack, he and Yuvraj tried to find novel ways to run themselves out. The running was so poor that it would have put Inzamam-ul Haq to shame. Having survived a close call of the earlier delivery, they once again indulged in another horrendous act with the Aussies not committing a mistake on the second occasion. The basics of calling and running seemed to have been forgotten.

But Yuvraj and Raina set to rest all speculation with a matured and pragmatic approach. After a few lusty hits it was down to the ones and twos and the target came within manageable limits. The running between the wickets was superb and Raina never let the advantage slip.

It all came to a nought in the end though Ponting reassured everyone about his form and imminent future with a superb century. The Australian captain loves to perform on the big stage and he proved that yet again.

The 36-year-old scored 104 off 118 balls, his first in international cricket after 13 months, helped the world champions reach 260 for six in the 50 overs. It was his 30 th hundred overall in the one-day format and fifth in a World Cup.

It is unknown if watching the videos of his innings in the 2003 World Cup final had inspired Ponting. Thursday’s knock was in stark contrast to the 140 off 121 balls at the Wanderers.

The circumstances may have forced him to show more poise and alacrity. It was a responsible knock during which he curbed his natural strokeplay and held the innings together. The only flourish being in the early stages when he took ten runs in Yuvraj Singh’s second over.

More than his skills, it was an exhibition of grit, his level-headedness and composure. The Aussies had a simple plan when Ponting chose to bat in the afternoon. Take no risks against Zaheer Khan, treat Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh with caution and attack Munaf Patel and Yuvraj.

Brad Haddin and Shane Watson gave the desired start with the former taking some calculated risks. Watson’s departure at the end of the mandatory Powerplay brought Ponting into the middle. He dealt Harbhajan, his nemesis, with care. He used his feet to milk the spinners dry but the shot that stood out was an astonishing six off Yuvraj. Ponting’s 70-run partnership with Haddin for the second wicket gave the innings direction. But the 55 runs he stitched together with David Hussey gave them the momentum.