Australia won the 2023 ODI World Cup by defeating hosts India. The two teams will meet in the last four of the Champions Trophy, another tournament in the ODI format. India and Australia will face each other in the first semi-final of the tournament.
India will enter the field with the aim of reaching the final of the Champions Trophy for the third consecutive time. On the other hand, Australia’s dream is to reach the final after 16 years. The duel between the two rivals will take place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at 3 pm Bangladesh time.
India entered the semi-finals of this edition as the ‘A’ Group champions. Rohit Sharma’s team won all three matches in the group stage. They defeated Bangladesh and Pakistan by 6 wickets and New Zealand by 44 runs in the last match.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy got a chance in India’s Champions Trophy team due to the injury of pacer Jasprit Bumrah. He showed a surprise with the ball in his first match in the last match of the group stage in place of Harshit Rana. He took five wickets. Therefore, Varun has increased the worries of the Indian team management before the semi-finals. Captain Rohit Sharma also admitted that India is worried about whether Varun or Rana will play in the semi-finals.
He said, “Varun is a different type of bowler. We wanted to see how he bowls. He bowled very well. If he bowls his way, it is very difficult to play him. We will have to give extra time to prepare the eleven for the next match.”
India’s dream of winning the title was shattered when they lost to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup at home in 2023. Once again, Australia will face India in the knockout stage of the ODI format tournament. Regarding this, Rohit said, “Australia always plays well in ICC events. It will be a very good match. We have to learn from our mistakes. We have to do our job properly. Hopefully, the result will be in our favor this time.”
India played the final of the tournament in 2013 and 2017. Team India has the best opportunity to play the third consecutive final as the first team in the history of the Champions Trophy. On the other hand, Australia started the tournament with a 5-wicket win against England. However, Australia had to share points due to rain in the next two matches against South Africa and Afghanistan. As a result, Steven Smith’s team secured the semi-finals by becoming the ‘B’ Group runners-up.
Australia, who last played in the final in 2009, is wary of facing India in the semi-finals. According to captain Smith, the team will have to face tough challenges. Smith said, “India is one of the best teams in world cricket. They have been in the top four in ICC events for the last 8-10 years. This time, Rohit’s team has played exceptional cricket in all three matches in the group stage. To achieve success against such a team, there is no other way than playing the best cricket. I am hopeful that my teammates will give their best and secure a ticket to the final.”
So far, India and Australia have faced each other in 151 ODIs. Out of these, Australia has won 84 matches. India has won 57 times. 10 matches have been abandoned. Apart from this, India and Australia are meeting in the Champions Trophy after a long 16 years. The last time the two teams faced each other was in 2009.
India squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarty.
Australia squad:
Steven Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshy, Nathan Ellis, Jack Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardy, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanvir Sangha, Cooper Connolly and Adam Zampa.