India defeated Australia in the Champions trophy semi-final at Dubai International Stadium, UAE by four wickets. The much anticipated contest between both the powerhouses of cricket kept everyone at toes the Aussie skipper, Steve Smith chose to bat first after winning the toss. It was Rohit Sharma’s 14 consecutive toss loss But despite losing the toss, the Men in Blue have reserved a spot for themselves in the Champions Trophy final now. It would be exciting to see which team the Indians have to face in the finals between New Zealand and South Africa. The second semi-final will be played in Lahore at the newly built Gaddafi Stadium. India has defeated New Zealand at the group stage already. Virat Kohli was awarded the Player of the Match for his 84 runs innings.
India Bowling: A Perfect Blend of spin and pace
India’s bowling tactics with the Australians seem to have worked out with a perfect blend of spin and pace. The Indian bowlers bowled out Australia on 264 runs with three balls remaining the highest scorer for the Australian innings was the captain Steve Smith. Alex Carey played a stabilising innings of 61 runs on 57 balls, but the happiness was short-lived when Shreyas Iyer Came with a direct hit and Carey was dismissed. The deep batting lineup of the Indian dugout seemed impressive but lost both the openers at the very initial stage. The skipper Rohit Sharma initially seemed steady when he was dismissed by Cooper Connolly on 28 runs. Shubman Gill was also sent back to the pavilion on 8 runs. The master of pursuit, Virat Kohli played an incredible innings of 84 runs and kept the team in game when he was sent back to the pavilion by spinner Adam Zampa . Shreyas Iyer also gave a hand in batting by smashing 45 runs when eventually he was bolded out by Adam Zampa.
The Indian bowling attack comprised six bowlers which included two fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya and four spinners, including all-rounder Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammed Shami took three wickets while the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarty and Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets for themselves. Kuldeep Yadav could not manage to take a wicket, but bowled with an impressive economy of 5.50. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel took one wicket for themselves. The key highlight was Varun Chakravarty’s dismissal of India’s all-time migraine, Travis Head.
Inexperienced Australian Bowlers
India was always into the game be it batting or bowling. The Indian innings was not bothered at all even after two early dismissals of the openers. The Australian bowlers could not manage to keep the Indians in check as only Adam Zampa managed to take two wickets, the inexperienced Australian bowling attack comprised Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, and Cooper Connolly bagged one wicket each for themselves. Although Kohli was dropped at 51 by Glenn Maxwell, the depth of Indian batting lineup, always horrified the Aussie players. The Australian batting lineup also failed to create an impact, but captain Steve Smith’s 73 runs innings and Alex Carey’s 61 runs helped the Aussies to land a total of 264.
