HIGHLIGHTS | IND vs AUS 1st Semi Final: India beat Australia, advance to final
India beat Australia by four wickets to advance to the final of the Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Blue rode on Virat Kohli's 84 off 98 deliveries for a comfortable win
India beat Australia by four wickets to advance to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Blue rode on Virat Kohli's brilliant 84 off 98 deliveries for a comfortable win. Towards the end of the innings, a quickfire cameo by Hardik Pandya (28 off 24 balls) helped ease the pressure for India.
Captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Cooper Connolly after making 28 runs, while his opening partner Shubman Gill became a victim of Ben Dwarshuis for 8. Shreyas Iyer made 45 after stitching crucial 91 runs with Kohli for the third wicket. He was clean-bowled by Adam Zampa in the 27th over.
For Australia, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa picked two wickets each.
Earlier, Indian bowlers were persistent but well-paced fifties from Steve Smith and Alex Carey carried a largely profligate Australia to a slightly sub-par 264 all out. Throughout his stay, Smith was the pillar of Australian innings, and was involved in three 50 stands — 52 with Travis Head for the second wicket, 56 for the third wicket Marnus Labuschagne and 54 for the fifth wicket with Carey (61 runs).
Men in Blue advance to the final of Champions Trophy 2025 after beating Australia by four wickets in Dubai. They will now face either South Africa or New Zealand on March 9.
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Men in Blue are in driving seat as they need 65 runs to win from the last 10 overs. Virat Kohli is not out at 80 off 93 deliveries, while KL Rahul is unbeaten at 10 runs
India are 150/3 after 30 overs. For India, Virat Kohli (59*) and Axar Patel (8) are at the crease.
At the end of 20 overs, India are 103/2. Virat Kohli is unbeaten at 34 runs off 40 balls, while Shreyas Iyer is not out at 31 runs off 40 balls.
Score:
India: 103/2 (20 overs)
After 10 overs, Men in Blue are 55/2 with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer at the crease. India are chasing a target of 265 runs set by Australia.
Australia fail to bat 50 overs after electing to bat first on winning the toss. Smith and Carey scored fifties to make sure they have some sort of a target but given India's form, it should be chased down.
AUS: 264/10 (Smith 73, Shami 3/48)
Two quick wickes have derailed Australia here and Carey is their only hope.
Score
AUS: 213/6 in 40 overs
Steven Smith b Mohammed Shami 73
Score
AUS: 198/5 36.4 overs
The Aussies have lost four wickets but good thing for them is Smith on the crease who looks set for his century. Alex Carey is giving support to him as the duo take the team near to 200-run mark.
Score
Aus: 182/4 in 34 overs
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have made sure that Australia stay in the match after two early wickets. The duo have taken Australia post 100 and have added 51 runs for the third wicket.
Score
Aus: 105/2 in 21 overs
Great start by India after losing the toss as they out both the openers including the dangerous Travis Head.
Score
Aus: 63/2 in 10 overs
Travis Head c Shubman Gill b Varun 39
AUS: 54/2 (8.2 overs)
Cooper Connolly c †Rahul b Mohammed Shami 0
Travis Head and Cooper Connolly have opened the innings for Australia as both sides search for a decent start.
In a headline news for Team India, Varun Chakravarthy has kept his place in the Playing XI. He will be a key asset for India as they look to book their place in the final for a third consecutive time.
Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Australia have won the toss and will bat first in the semis as India will have to chase the target, in a different theme compared to the ODI World Cup final.
The toss is likely to play a crucial role as India and Australia will look to open the first cards of the day. The playing XI will be a crucial choice for both the sides as they search for a place in the final.
It will interesting to see whether the Indian team opts for Harshit Rana or they keep faith in Varun Chakravarthy after a match-winning spell against New Zealand?
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Sean Abbott, Aaron Hardie, Tanveer Sangha, Cooper Connolly
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
India's only defeat at CWC 2023 came in that one game in which their spinners failed to take a single wicket (Kuldeep and Jadeja returned 0/99 in 20 overs between them).
Rohit is the only player with 1000-plus runs in Overs 1-10 in ODIs since 2023. Of the 100 players who have scored at least 100 runs in this phase in ODIs since 2023, only Travis Head has a superior strike-rate (130.48).
Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy
India have lost 13 tosses in a row but Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be too worried for his continued lack of luck with the coin. The Indian team is well familiar with the conditions and are well prepared to set or chase the target. It will be a tricky call for Steve Smith if he wins the toss.
India 57 wins
Australia 84 wins
no results 10
The India vs Australia Champions Trophy 2025 match will be played at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
The India vs Australia Champions Trophy 2025 match will start at 2:30 PM IST on Tuesday (Mar 4) with the toss taking place at 2:00 PM IST.
In a repeat of the 2023 ODI World Cup final, India will take on Australia in the first semifinal of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday (Mar 4). The contest between the two traditional rivals will be one to watch as India search for revenge while Australia look to add another ICC trophy to their cabinet.
