KEY POINTS:
DURBAN - India sent Australia tumbling out of the Twenty20 World Championship and set up a dream final with close rivals Pakistan after winning a thrilling semi-final by 15 runs at Kingsmead.
Yuvraj Singh exploded for 70 runs off 30 balls as India scored 5-188 from their 20
overs before restricting Australia to 7-173 in reply.
Matthew Hayden top scored for Australia with 62 off 47 balls, but Australia's run chase fell away in the final overs following the dismissal of Andrew Symonds (43 off 26).
Sreesnath claimed an inspired 2-12 from four overs for India, taking the key scalps of Hayden and Adam Gilchrist (22 off 13) - giving both batsman a few choice words as they left the pitch.
India will now play Pakistan in the final of the inaugural tournament in Johannesburg on Monday after the Pakistanis earlier today defeated New Zealand by six wickets in Cape Town.
Australia looked on track for a memorable victory, needing 41 runs from the final four overs, but the dismissal Symonds, bowled Irfan Pathan (2-44), in the 17th over proved crucial.
Brad Haddin and Michael Hussey could only manage three runs off the penultimate over from RP Singh, leaving Australia needing 22 runs from the final six balls.
It proved far too much, with India claiming a famous victory.
Hayden bludgeoned four boundaries and four sixes in his fourth half-century of the tournament, lifting his championship aggregate to 265 runs in six innings.
Earlier, Yuvraj, In his first game since blasting six sixes in an over from England's Stuart Broad, smashed five boundaries and five sixes to send the pro-Indian crowd of nearly 19,000 into a frenzy.
Dhoni added 36 from 18 balls to lift the total in the final overs, with Mitchell Johnson (2-31) and part-timer Michael Clarke (1-13 from one over) the only bowlers to take wickets.
Yuvraj arrived at the crease with India 2-41 after eight overs after Johnson had claimed his second scalp of Gautam Gambhir, brilliantly caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Brad Hodge for 24.
He blasted a six from the second ball he faced, and with steady support from Robin Uthappa (34 off 28) continued to plunder the Australian attack.
His 50 came up in just 20 balls and by the time he was dismissed - caught Michael Hussey at deep mid-wicket off Michael Clarke - Yuvraj had helped carry the score to 4-155 in the 18th over.
With Uthappa, Yuvraj added 84 from 40 balls, before Uthappa was run out by Andrew Symonds.
But as good as he was in the field, Symonds was costly with the ball tonight.
With Shane Watson out injured, Australia sorely missed a fifth bowling option bowler as Symonds' part-time medium pacers and off-spin went for 37 from three overs.
He wasn't alone in taking some stick through.
Stuart Clark (0-38) went for 21 from his last over - 20 off the bat of Yuvraj with one wide - with Nathan Bracken (0-38) also going for 18 in the penultimate over of the innings.
- AAP