Australia skipper Smith not buying into India's Dubai advantage
Australia captain Steve Smith steered clear of commenting on India's Dubai advantage at the Champions Trophy following the four-wicket defeat to the south Asians in the semi-final.
Pat Cummins Sport News
Virat Kohli leads India to Champions Trophy final with victory over Australia in Dubai
DUBAI: Veteran batsman Virat Kohli rolled back the years with a polished 84 as India pulled off a tense chase to beat Australia by four wickets in the first semifinal of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday. Set 265 for victory, India lost the 36-year-old Kohli in the closing overs but KL Rahul’s unbeaten 42 steered the team home with 11 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium. They will face South Africa or New Zealand in the final on Sunday in Dubai with India playing all their matches at the venue after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan for the eight-nation event. Lahore was the alternate venue for the final had India missed out. Australia elected to bat and posted the highest total of 264 all out at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in this tournament after key knocks from skipper Steve Smith, who made 73, and Alex Carey, who hit 61. In reply India lost two early wickets before Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, who made 45, put the chase back on track in their partnership of 91. Cooper Connolly, making the team in place of injured Matthew Short who was forced out of the tournament on Monday, trapped skipper Rohit Sharma lbw on 28 for his first ODI wicket. Kohli and Iyer then took stock against an inexperienced Australian attack missing their top fast bowlers including Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to injuries. But the next line of bowlers stood up as leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled Iyer before pace bowler Nathan Ellis rattled the stumps of Axar Patel for 27. Kohli, known as a master chaser who recently hit an unbeaten 100 in India’s win over arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23, stood firm in another stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul. Kohli was dropped by Glenn Maxwell off Connolly on 51 but Zampa denied him
On 'Silencing' Indian Crowd Like ODI World Cup Final, Steve Smith's Direct Message Ahead Of CT 2025 Semi-Final
Australia captain Steve Smith addressed the media in a pre-match press conference ahead of their high-stakes ICC Champions Trophy semifinal clash against India on Tuesday. With India entering the match on the back of an unbeaten run, Smith acknowledged their dominance and shared his thoughts on the challenges ahead. When asked if Australia had a plan to silence the Indian crowd, like Pat Cummins mentioned ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup final, Smith responded, "Yeah, I don't really have a message to be honest. Just going out and playing, and hopefully, we can put on a good show."
'If India Don't Reach Final...': Ex-Australia Star's Big Warning For Gautam Gambhir Ahead Of Champions Trophy Semis
After beating New Zealand in the last group stage match of Champions Trophy 2025, Team India is all set to face the mighty Australia in the first semi-final on Tuesday in Dubai. Australia, who are known for handling pressure situations with ease, are once again standing in India's way to an ICC title. Rohit Sharma and co will now look to settle the scores for the heartbreaking ODI World Cup 2023 final loss. Ahead of this high voltage clash, former Australia cricketer Brad Haddin stated that Team India is under a lot of pressure of winning the semis at any cost.
'Australia Don't Have...': Sunil Gavaskar's Mammoth Prediction On Champions Trophy 2025 Semifinal
Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar made a massive prediction regarding the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal between India and Australia in Dubai on Tuesday. Gavaskar picked the Rohit Sharma-led side as clear favourities for the encounter and even pointed out a massive weakness in the current Australia side. Gavaskar believes that Australia's spinners are not as good as India and that can turn out to be a major problem for them. He added that the absence of players like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc will also play a huge role in the encounter.
India brace for ‘nervy times’ against Australia in semifinal
DUBAI: Rohit Sharma warned his India team Monday to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in the Champions Trophy last four in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
'Pressure Will Be On Both Teams': Rohit Sharma On Semi-Final Against Australia
Skipper Rohit Sharma dismissed the thought that India are under added pressure against Australia in the Champions Trophy semifinal, and felt that "pressure to win" will be equal on both the teams. India have not beaten Australia in the ICC knockouts matches since winning the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal. "Look, they are a great opposition to play against. All we had to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion. We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
India out to milk venue advantage for revenge against Australia
DUBAI : Blessed with a venue advantage and with a depleted Australia at their disposal, India will be gunning for revenge when the familiar foes clash in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday.