Australia are close to the semi-finals with their fifth straight win

They huffed and puffed for a while but Australia took England off life support and crashed them out of the World Cup, drawing the curtain on a glorious eight-year chapter in white-ball cricket history. And fittingly, what remained of England's hopes were extinguished in Ahmedabad, where their defense of the crown had begun to slip a month earlier. If any fears of an under-prepared and unbalanced line-up seemed unfounded, the double world champions' need for a reboot and a fresh start was exposed in Australia's all-round show on Saturday (November 4). Read More Cricket News

Nothing exemplifies this disappointing title defense more than Jos Buttler's dismissal for 1 off seven balls to chase down England's 286. The skipper walked out after the third wicket partnership of David Malan and Ben Stokes set the platform for 84 runs. Dew had set in and Buttler looked to stamp his authority on main rival spinner Adam Jumpa. He gets out and hits the ball straight down the throat of long off. The legspinner finished with frankly outstanding figures of 3 for 21, ending the night at the top of the wicket charts.

Comparatively, it was a good batting display from England after two unfortunate outings, losing Jonny Bairstow on the first ball of the chase and Joe Root in the fifth over. Malan and Stokes kept their inner bees and butterflies behind to score half-centuries and chase the target back. But all these figures seemed to be England's and eventually the cracks showed once more when Pat Cummins bowled Malan square leg just after England's opener had made 50.