Ricky Ponting's side seemed to be living in the past, with most of the team now over 30.
They will have still been good enough to beat most teams in the competition, though, as they proved in the group stage and in the pre-tournament series with England.
And that is why a lot of credit must go to India.
They dealt with the intense pressure of their home crowd to turn in a performance of the highest quality, squeezing Australia at times with the ball and finishing them off expertly with the bat.
They deserve a semi-final place, with a number of world-class performers sure to stand up and be counted the bigger the matches get.
That was certainly the case this time.
The spinners did a great job to restrict Australia's batsmen, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh both taking two wickets each. Zaheer Khan was also impressive as the bowling outfit did well to keep the score well below 300.
He is showing the sort of form he produced against England a few years ago, and has become one of the great 'finishers' of the modern-day game.
He strikes a good balance between big-hitting and sensible batting, and will be a key figure if India are to go all the way.
His innings against Australia settled the team down, he guided them to victory. He showed a cool head under nerve-wracking circumstances.
Suresh Raina also helped finish the game well, ending not out on 34, vindicating the selectors' decision to pick him over Yusuf Pathan.
As with Yuvraj, he coped with the pressure and it seemed as though he had coped with situations like this for years.
In his last two innings, he has walked despite the umpire ruling he had not edged the ball, showing tremendous sportsmanship.
Replays proved inconclusive and so it showed how good a man Tendulkar is when he walked in such a vital match, at such an important moment.
He will not only go down as one of the great players the game has seen, but as one of the true gentlemen of the game.
He is a legend in every sense of the word and cricket fans should enjoy watching him now before he retires.
He has had to put up with a lot of flak over the last few months, from Australia losing the Ashes to his lack of form with the bat to questions over his future as captain, but whatever is said, his batting shouldn't be brought into question.
A big score always seemed just around the corner for him and it is just a shame for him that his century counted for nothing in the end.
Whatever issues are raised with his captaincy, he has the talent to continue batting for years to come.
Taking the captaincy away from him may be best for everybody, allowing Ponting to concentrate on his batting and end his career in style.
There is still a lot of cricket in him yet and I'd be surprised if he is not still playing for Australia, captain or not, in the 2013 Ashes.
As for Australia as a whole, though, this defeat could spell the end of an era.
Ponting, at 36, is unlikely to make it to another World Cup and so Australia must find a new talisman.
Michael Clarke will be 33 at the next World Cup, possibly past his peak as a batsman.
Brad Haddin is unlikely to be there, so Australia will need a new wicketkeeper-batsman. Tim Paine has the potential but must prove it over a number of years before the next World Cup.
Brett Lee and Mike Hussey are also likely to have played their final World Cup game, meaning Australia must bring younger players through now so they have gained experience by the next World Cup.
They are not the side they once were and there seems to be a lack of talent coming through. Australian cricket could be set to enter the doldrums in a new age of cricket where the sub-continent looks set to dominate.
They could be the future of cricket for the next 10 years or so, and will be very hard to beat.
England are ahead of Australia in terms of bringing youngsters through at the moment, while South Africa are possibly the best side 'on paper' in the world, so the Australians must work hard to avoid slipping down the rankings in the coming years.
India's victory sets up a grudge game with fierce rivals Pakistan.
That will be a high-tension game and will give the Indian fans another chance to really get behind their team.
One of the striking features of this World Cup has been the fans, with the noise and passion in all three countries shining through.
The atmosphere they create has made this World Cup a truly memorable one, and it would be good for the tournament to have a host nation in the final.
India will not have it all their own way against Pakistan, though.
They have rallied from their loss of Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - after they were found guilty of spot-fixing and banned from cricket for five years - to become one of the real forces of this World Cup.
The loss of Amir, a great talent at just 18, would affect any team and they have done well to cope without him.
His absence is also a blow for cricket as he had the potential to become one of the greats. But he had to be punished and five years out of the game seems fair and offers him an opportunity to resume his career in his early-20s.
As for their quarter-final game, it was disappointing to see the way the West Indies capitulated against them.
As soon as a wicket fell, all of their heads began to drop. They had enough talent to go far in the tournament but did not have the mental strength to go all the way.
India-Pakistan will be a great semi-final and both would be worthy champions. Australia's run had to come to an end and India always looked the team most likely to end it. Now they must produce a similar display against their old rivals.
Afridi and co might have something to say about that.
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