Follow UsWe’re down to 4 from 8, and the first semi-final is all set to witness the biggest clash of this tournament, with favourites India taking on Australia. India have won each of their three group matches and are in prime form, but, interestingly, Australia will also enter the clash unbeaten. The Aussies have had only one ‘completed’ match, but they are in pretty good form, as they were in pole position to beat Afghanistan before rain played spoilsport.
It’s a massive encounter, for while India are trying to make it back-to-back ICC titles, Australia are aiming to win their first Champions Trophy title in 16 years.
Ready for the ‘actual’ best rivalry in the sport?
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy
Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Adam Zampa
India Probable Playing 11: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Australia Probable Playing 11: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
In India, the India vs Australia clash will be telecasted live on the Star Sports Network, and it will also be streamed live on JioHotstar.
In Australia, you can watch the India vs Australia clash exclusively on Prime Video.
India vs Australia will start at 2:30 PM IST and 8:00 PM AEDT.
You can buy tickets for the India vs Australia semi-final clash here https://icctickets.virginmegastore.me/sports/4/semi-final-1-india-v-australia
Safe options: Shubman Gill (IND), Virat Kohli (IND), Travis Head (AUS), Steven Smith (AUS)
Risky options: Axar Patel (IND), Varun Chakaravarthy (IND), Glenn Maxwell (AUS), Josh Inglis (AUS)
P151 | AUS 84 | IND 57
Last 5 matches: AUS 2 | IND 3
India will enter the contest, having played all their matches in Dubai with a full-strength team, barring Jasprit Bumrah, with nearly everyone in great touch. Australia, on the other hand, have as many as five first-team players out and are fielding a second-string pace attack. They also have not played a single match in Dubai so far. The spin-friendly conditions are likely to exceedingly favor India. Thus it goes without saying that India will enter the clash as overwhelming favourites.
Virat Kohli averages 53.79 against Australia in ODIs and across his last 17 ODI innings against the Aussies, he’s scored 988 runs at an average of 58. Kohli has scored four fifties in each of his last four ODI innings against Australia and is well and truly an Aussie tormentor. Don’t be surprised if the King once again flays the Kangaroos.
The first semi-final could just prove to be Kuldeep Yadav’s day. Against the Aussies, he’s taken 31 wickets in just 22 games, including having taken 7 wickets across the last four ODIs against them.
Dubai has the lowest average score among all venues in this Champions Trophy (min 3 games) and has proven extremely challenging for the batters. It’s provided plenty of assistance for spin, so much so that India played 4 specialist spinners against New Zealand. Against New Zealand, the Indian spinners took as many as 9 wickets. Expect another low-ish scoring game with plenty of turn for the tweakers.
The temperatures will be pleasant in Dubai tomorrow, ranging between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius. It is expected to be bright and there’s no chance of rain. So expect a full match.