Champions Trophy: India beat Australia to reach third successive final
What's the story
India beat Australia in Dubai to reach the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final.
They successfully chased down 265 after bowling Australia out. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya starred in India's run-chase.
Mohammed Shami earlier thwarted Australia with three wickets, with Steve Smith and Alex Carey smashing fifties.
India will face either South Africa or New Zealand in the final.
Australia
India restrict Australia to 264 in 49.3 overs
Electing to bat, Australia lost Cooper Connolly early, but Travis Head's quickfire 39(33) powered them.
While Varun Chakravarthy removed Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith took Australia past 100.
Ravindra Jadeja's twin strikes left Australia reeling at 144/4, but Carey and Smith steadied the ship.
Although Carey pushed Australia to 250, Shami and Hardik Pandya restricted them to 264 in 49.3 overs.
India
Kohli, Iyer bolster India's run-chase
Australia started their defence with Ben Dwarshuis sending back Shubman Gill.
While Rohit Sharma counter-attacked in his 28(29), Connolly trapped him in the eighth over.
Kohli and Iyer built a solid partnership thereafter. They dealt in singles to bat Australia out of the contest.
Australia uprooted Iyer, Axar Patel, and later Kohli, the likes of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya got India home.
Appearance
Third consecutive final for India
As mentioned, India have reached their third successive final at the Champions Trophy.
The Men in Blue won the 2013 edition under the leadership of MS Dhoni. They finished as the runners-up of the 2017 edition, where Pakistan defeated the Kohli-led side in the final.
Notably, India have reached their fifth Champions Trophy final (also in 2000 and 2002).
Rohit
Most sixes in ICC ODI tournaments
Rohit gave India a solid start in the run-chase. He smacked a 29-ball 28 before getting dismissed by spinner Cooper Connolly in the eighth over.
With his first and only maximum, he went ahead of Chris Gayle on the list for most sixes in World Cup and Champions Trophy matches.
Rohit has smashed a total of 65 sixes compared to Gayle's 64.
Kohli
Kohli shines with sturdy 84
Kohli came in after India lost Gill in the fifth over (30/1). The former, who started cautiously, lost skipper Rohit's support in the eighth over.
However, he steadied the ship with Iyer. The duo took care of India's middle-over phase.
Kohli was later assisted by Axar and Rahul in the run-chase. He fell for a 98-ball 84 laced with 5 fours.
Finish
How Rahul added the finishing touch
Australia dismissed a well-set Iyer and Axar, reducing India to 178/4. However, Kohli and Rahul comfortably steered India past 220.
While Rahul began to counter-attack, Kohli threw his wicket against the run of play. However, Hardik Pandya joined Rahul in India's bid to chase down 265.
Pandya's three maximums put India in cruise control, while Rahul's 34-ball 42* powered India home in 48.1 overs.
Feat
Kohli attains these feats
As per ESPNcricinfo, Kohli now has the most fifty-plus scores in ICC ODI tournaments (World Cup and Champions Trophy).
He broke a tie with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who owns 23 such scores. No other batter has more than 18 fifty-plus scores in these tournaments combined.
Rohit follows Tendulkar on this list with 18 such scores.
Milestone
India's highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy
During his scintillating knock, Kohli also went past Shikhar Dhawan to become India's highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy history.
The left-hander compiled 701 runs from 10 matches at 77.88 in this tournament. No Indian other than Kohli and Dhawan have 700-plus runs in this regard.
Kohli, who also surpassed Mahela Jayawardene (742), is only behind Chris Gayle in terms of Champions Trophy runs (791).
Stand
Match-winning partnership for India
As mentioned, Kohli and Iyer added 91 runs to take the pressure off India.
The latter looked set for another big score, but Adam Zampa knocked him over in the 27th over. He departed for 45 off 62 balls (3 fours).
As per Cricbuzz, Kohli and Iyer now have 1,670 runs between them at a staggering average of 55.66 in ODI cricket.
Fielding
India's most successful fielder across formats
Besides playing a match-winning knock, Kohli made history with two catches.
He has become India's most successful fielder in international cricket.
Kohli now has 336 catches in 549 matches, leaving behind Rahul Dravid. The former Indian captain took 334 catches for Asia, ICC, and India.
Kohli also surpassed Ricky Ponting in terms of ODI catches. He now has 161 catches compared to Ponting's 160.
Smith
Second-highest Champions Trophy score by Australian captain
Smith smashed a 96-ball 73 (4 fours and 1 six) before Shami knocked the latter over. He slammed his 35th half-century in ODI cricket.
Smith now has the second-highest individual score by an Australian captain in Champions Trophy history.
He is only behind the legendary Ricky Ponting, who hammered a brilliant 111*(115) against England in the 2009 Champions Trophy semi-final.
Carey
Carey registers his career-best score against India
Carey played a gritty knock, but a fierce direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ran him out. His 61(57) had 8 fours and a six.
Carey registered his career-best score against India in ODI cricket. His previous-best score in this regard was 50*(35), which came during the 2019 World Cup.
Carey now has 437 runs from 21 ODIs at an average of 31.21 against India.
Battles
A look at player battles
Labuschagne has now fallen to Jadeja a total of four times across four ODI innings.
The Aussie batter has racked up 120 runs off 180 balls at an average of 30 against Jadeja in the format. His tally includes a strike-rate of 66.66.
Similarly, Shami has dismissed Smith a total of five times in ODI cricket. Smith averages 24.60 in this battle.
Connolly
Fourth-youngest Australian in ICC ODI events
Connolly replaced Matthew Short, who was earlier ruled out with an injury, as reported before.
According to Cricbuzz, the former is now the fourth-youngest player to represent Australia in ICC ODI events (21 years and 194 days).
However, Connolly's Champions Trophy debut was forgettable as he departed for a nine-ball duck being caught behind. Shami dismissed him.
Milestone
Third-fastest Indian to 3,000 ODI runs
With his 33rd, Rahul went past 3,000 runs in ODI cricket.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Rahul took just 78 innings to complete 3,000 ODI runs. Among Indians, only Dhawan (72) and Kohli (75) have reached the milestone faster.
Meanwhile, he also went past 5,000 runs in List A cricket with his 23rd run.
Rahul averages over 48 in the format.