ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Semi-Final 1, IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli's 84 and a late cameo from Rahul and Pandya propel India into the finals.
Brief Scores: AUS vs IND, Semi-Final 1, CT 2025: India 267/6 (Virat Kohli 84, Shreyas Iyer 45, Nathan Ellis 2/49) beat Australia 264 (Steven Smith 73, Alex Carey 61, Mohammad Shami 3/48) by four wickets.
Two evenly matched teams based on recent records, India and Australia, faced off in the first semi-final of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. As expected, it wasn’t a high-scoring affair, with India emerging victorious in the run chase. With this four-wicket win, India stormed into their fifth Champions Trophy final—and their third in a row.
Talking Point - Should India continue with their ‘Spin Quartet’?
India stuck to their strategy of playing four spinners in these conditions. However, they didn’t receive the same level of support from the pitch as in previous games. The spinners picked up five wickets but conceded 176 runs between them. If the pitch in the final doesn’t assist spin or if the pacers prove expensive, Team India might be wise to reconsider their approach and include an additional pacer.
Smith and Carey propel Australia to competitive total
Australia opted to bat on what appeared to be a dry surface in Dubai. However, they didn’t get off to the best start, as their newly drafted opener, Cooper Connolly, departed for a duck in just the third over. Travis Head, who has often troubled India, got off to a quick start, but the introduction of Varun Chakravarthy led to his dismissal.
Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stitched together a 56-run stand for the third wicket but took 14 overs to do so. Ravindra Jadeja eventually broke the partnership, and this set the pattern for Australia’s innings—just as a partnership was beginning to build, India found a way to break through.
Smith continued his good form against India, scoring 73, while Alex Carey played a crucial role at the back end of the innings with a 61-run knock off 57 balls. Despite receiving little support, Carey’s contribution helped Australia cross the 260-run mark. Read More: CT 2025, IND vs NZ, Group A: Varun-led spin quartet bamboozles NZ; India to face Australia in SF
Kohli’s 86 headlines India’s chase
Chasing a competitive target of 265 in a crucial match, India lost both their openers inside the powerplay. Shubman Gill played onto his stumps after a loose stroke off Ben Dwarshuis, while Cooper Connolly trapped Rohit Sharma lbw. At 43/2 following the departure of the India skipper, Australia had the upper hand at that stage.
However, the pair of Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli assessed the situation well, rotated the strike efficiently, and found the boundary consistently. Their 91-run partnership off 111 balls brought India back into the contest. But against the run of play, Iyer fell for 45 to Adam Zampa, and Nathan Ellis castled Axar Patel after his useful 44-run stand with Kohli.
With 86 needed off the last 15 overs, KL Rahul upped the ante, easing the pressure off Kohli, who departed after a splendid knock of 86. In the end, a flurry of sixes from Rahul and Hardik Pandya sealed the victory for India with 11 balls to spare.
Statistical Highlights from AUS vs IND, CT 2025
Mohammad Shami now has 13 wickets in knockout games of ICC ODI events. It is the third highest for India in this category.
Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed for the fourth time by Jadeja in ODIs. The Australia batter has scored 120 runs off 180 balls bowled by Jadeja in this format.
Steven Smith registered his 47th fifty-plus score in ODIs.
Shami dismissed Steven Smith for the fifth time in ODIs.
Australia managed to score 150 runs in the middle overs (11-40) against India in this semi-final. It is the second highest in this phase for any team in Dubai in CT 2025.
Shami (63) went past Wasim Akram (62) in terms of number of wickets in ICC ODI events.
Shubman Gill's below average returns in ICC knockout fixtures (All Test/ODI/T20I) continued in this game as he was dismissed for 8. He has managed just 159 runs from 7 innings in ICC knockout games, at an average of 26.50 with a solitary fifty.
Kohli (503) overtook Sourav Ganguly (489) to become the second-highest run scorer in knockout games of ICC ODI events. Ricky Ponting leads the list with 509 runs.
What’s Next
India have secured their place in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Their focus now shifts to tomorrow’s match, which will determine whether they face New Zealand or South Africa in the summit clash.
The Kiwis and Proteas are set to battle in the second semi-final, scheduled to take place in Lahore. The winner of this fixture will travel to Dubai for the ultimate showdown against the Men in Blue.
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