India defeated Australia by 4 wickets in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to reach the final. The first semi-final of the International Cricket Council’s major event hosted by Pakistan is being played at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, where the entire Australian team was bowled out for 264 runs in 49.3 overs while batting first.
In pursuit of the target, Virat Kohli once again played a responsible inning for India and played an important role in the team’s victory. India achieved the desired target 2 overs in advance, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 84 runs.
India batting
India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma got two chances in the early overs, but despite that, he failed to play big innings. Sharma was dismissed for 28 runs, while Shubman Gill could only score 8 runs.
Despite the low target, Australia showed very poor fielding. After Rohit, Virat Kohli was also given a chance, due to which he was able to build a significant partnership of 91 runs with Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 45 runs, while Axar Patel also contributed to the victory by playing an innings of 27 runs. Hardik Pandya played an aggressive inning of 28 runs while KL Rahul remained not out on 42 runs.Virat Kohli played a key role in India’s victory; not only did he complete his half-century, but he also scored 84 runs off 98 balls, which included only 5 fours.
For Australia, Adam Zampa and Nathan Ellis took 2 wickets each, while Ben Duersma and Cooper Connolly took one wicket each.
Australia batting
Earlier, they won the toss and elected to bat against India. The Kangaroos brought in young batsman Cooper Connolly after aggressive opening batsman Matt Short was unfit, but he fell victim to Mohammed Shami without opening his account.
The other opener, Travis Head, who has always performed well against India, played an aggressive inning of 39 runs off 33 balls, falling victim to Varun Chakravarthy. Marnus Labuschagne scored 29, and Josh Ingles scored 11 runs. Steve Smith completed his half-century and despite having almost 200 runs on the board in 36 overs, Smith appeared to be in a hurry and lost his wicket while playing a wrong short. he was out after scoring 73 runs off 96 balls.
Glenn Maxwell hit a six on the first ball, and on the very next ball, Patel clean bowled Maxwell, adding to the troubles of the Kangaroos. Alex Carey showed responsibility and scored a half-century. he remained on the wicket till the end but unfortunately was run out for 61 runs after completing his half-century.
For India, Mohammed Shami took 3, Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy took 2, while Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took one wicket each.
Speaking after the toss, Australian captain Steve Smith said that it is a dry wicket and they will try to bat first and set a good total on the scoreboard. When asked about the wicket, the Australian captain said that the Dubai wicket is quite dry compared to Pakistan, which will help the ball turn. That is why we want to bat first and set a good total on the scoreboard and put pressure on the opposing team.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that if he had won the toss, he would have probably wanted to bowl or bat. The Dubai wicket is very different, and if you are worried, it is better to lose the toss. He said that for the semi-finals, he did not make any changes in the team and decided to take the field with 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers.
