Finance
India vs Australia Semi Final Champions Trophy 2025 HIGHLIGHTS: India entered the Champions Trophy final after a 4-wicket win over Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Australia, on the other hand, were uncharacteristically shoddy in the field, dropping Rohit Sharma twice and Kohli once.
Earlier, Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61) scored half centuries. Australia were looking set for a hefty target but they lost the wickets of Steve Smith (bowled by Mohammed Shami for 73 runs) and Glenn Maxwell (removed by Axar Patel) in quick succession. Carey was run out for 61 after some splendid work in the field from Shreyas Iyer. For India, Shami claimed three wickets after Steve Smith had opted to bat first.
India began their run chase of 265 on a shaky beginning, losing the wickets of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma during the powerplay. Since then, India’s chase guru Virat Kohli has taken control of the innings. He and Shreyas Iyer shared a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter was bowled for 45. However, Kohli has gone on to score a half-century. Axar Patel has joined him, and the two have formed a partnership of 44. Nathan Ellis then ended the collaboration after Axar was discharged for 27. KL Rahul formed a partnership with Kohli, and the two appeared poised to lead India to victory. However, Virat Kohli fell 16 runs short of his century, with Adam Zampa claiming his wicket in the 42nd over. Hardik Pandya then delivered a stunning knock, scoring 28 runs off 24 balls. KL Rahul then delivered the final touch, remaining not out on 42 to lead India to a four-wicket victory. They have thus secured their third consecutive Champions Trophy 2025 final.
Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, along with seamer Mohammed Shami, took early wickets in the middle overs to help India restrict Australia to a challenging score of 264 in the Champions Trophy semifinals on Tuesday. Just as it appeared that Australia was on track to reach about 300 runs, Mohammed Shami struck with his golden arm to remove the dangerous-looking Steve Smith. Glenn Maxwell followed suit, falling after hitting a single six, as the Australians lost two wickets in rapid succession. In the end, reducing a 250-plus total in the semifinals will not be easy, but India will not be disappointed given that they were once facing a 300-plus chase.
Earlier, Varun Chakaravarthy ensured that India breathed a sigh of relief by removing Travis Head, who appeared to be becoming increasingly dangerous after leading Australia to victory. This came after Mohammed Shami struck in India’s second over, and Cooper Connolly made the long trek back to the changing room without disturbing the scorer. This occurred after Australia won the toss and chose to bat on a sticky wicket that was projected to become slower and lower in the second part of the game. India qualified for the semifinals by defeating Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand. Australia, on the other hand, trounced England, but their matches against South Africa and Afghanistan were called off due to rain.
