Champions Trophy semi-final: India meet Australia in WC final rematch
What's the story
The much-awaited first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will see India take on Australia.
The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (March 4).
India, who topped Group A, will have scores to settle as Australia beat them in the 2023 World Cup final.
Meanwhile, the Aussies have played just one concluded game in this tournament so far.
Here is the match preview.
Details
Pitch conditions and streaming details
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium is famous for its slow surface, which usually assists spinners.
In the ongoing tournament, no team has been able to score more than 250 runs in their first three games at the venue.
The temperature will be around 30 degrees Celsius during the first half of the game, dropping to around 25 degrees Celsius after sunset.
The match be live televised on Star Sports Network while Jiostar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
Journey
Journey of the two teams
India started their win with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh, followed by another six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
In their last group match, India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs.
Australia, who finished second in the Group B points table, had two of their group games washed out due to rain.
Their campaign started with a win over England, having chased down 352.
Australia managed to book their spot in the semifinals despite washed-out clashes versus Afghanistan and South Africa.
H2H
India vs Australia: Head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, a total of 151 ODIs have been played between Australia and India.
The Aussies have a massive lead with 84 wins in comparison to India's 57 victories. As many as 10 matches finished inconclusively.
They have faced each other three times in concluded CT matches, with India prevailing twice.
The 2023 World Cup final marked the preceding ODI meeting between the two teams. Australia returned with a comprehensive win.
Changes
Will Steve Smith open for Australia?
Injured opener Matthew Short has been ruled out of the tournament as all-rounder Cooper Connolly has come in as his replacement.
Though the Aussies have a reserve opener in Jake Fraser-McGurk, his returns for Australia have been ordinary.
Hence, Australia might consider promoting captain Steve Smith to the top and inducting Connolly into the XI. Notably, the latter's left-arm spin can be handy in Dubai.
For India, Varun Chakravarthy is likely to retain his place after his fifer against NZ.
XI
Here are the predicted XIs
India (Predicted XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Australia (Predicted XI): Travis Head, Steven Smith (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.
Stats
Key players for IND-AUS clash
Shreyas Iyer has been in spectacular form for India as his last six ODI scores read 78, 44, 59, 15, 56, and 79.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has four 50-plus scores in his last six outings. This includes two tons.
Varun Chakravarthy and Mohammed Shami have claimed fifers for India in this tourney.
Josh Inglis made 120* off just 86 balls in Australia's tournament opener against England.
Alex Carey and Travis Head also own half-centuries in this tourney.
Poll
