Champions Trophy 2025: Team India secured a thrilling 4-wicket victory against Australia in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025. Thanks to the valuable contributions of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya that steered India in a tricky 265-run chase at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) on Tuesday (March 04).

Despite Rohit Sharma losing the toss, the standout batting performance from Virat’s 74th ODI half-century scoring 84 runs out of 98 balls (including 5 fours) showed his intent to accumulate runs. The 37-year-old’s efforts lowered the burden on the batting line-up as the Indians chased down the target with 11 balls to spare.

Ultimately, India becomes the first team to make it into the hattrick of Champions Trophy finals. Also, this is their fourth appearance in the grand finale since the tournament’s inaugural season in 1998.

Let’s take a deeper look at the nail-biting moments to glimpse how the men-in-blue overcame all their hurdles against the mighty Aussies in a high-pressure knockout match.

A Summary of Australia’s First Innings

Travis Head’s Innings Tamed After an Explosive Start

Following the dismissal of Cooper Connolly’s 9-ball-duck, Travis Head once again seemed to become a big ‘Headache’ for India. The left-handed batter’s 39 runs out of 33 balls (including 5 fours and 2 sixes) provided a fierce start to Australia in the powerplay overs.

However, the Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy found a way to dismiss Head. All credit goes to Shubman Gill’s magnificent catch to dismiss the most dangerous opening batter.

Steven Smith’s Half Century: A Captain’s Knock

Australia captain Steve Smith anchored the team’s innings with a composed 96-ball-73-run knock, that included 4 fours and 1 six at a batting strike rate of 76.04.

After Head’s dismissal, the right-handed batter maintained 50-plus consistent partnerships with Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey.

Smith Misses Out His 13th ODI Century

Steve Smith succumbed to a bowled dismissal as he was unable to tackle the full-toss delivery bowled by Mohammed Shami. The Aussie skipper fell 17 runs short of registering his 13th ODI century.

Alex Carey’s Supportive Fifty

Alex Carey’s 61 runs out of 57 balls (including 8 fours and 1 six) helped Australia cross the 200-run mark. At one stage it seemed the Aussies would post a target between 270 and 320. However, his dismissal restricted the men-in-yellow’s total below 300.

A Glimpse of India’s Heart-Beating Run Chase

Rohit Sharma Fails Even After Two Dropped Catches

As Australia had a competitive total on the board, they needed an early wicket and Rohit Sharma’s two consecutive dropped catches were a lifeline for Team India to keep their momentum going.

In the 2nd over of the match bowled by Nathan Ellis, Cooper Connolly put down a straightforward catch.

Following that, in the next over, Rohit once again repeated a similar mistake as of the ODI World Cup 2023 final. The Indian opener struck the ball over the middle of the field. Reminiscent of Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne attempted to grab the ball with both hands by running with great speed but failed to grab the catch.

After Shubman Gill’s dismissal in the fifth over, the Hitman was supposed to bat long and get his team in a safe position. However, Connolly got his man as the 37-year-old attempted to sweep a full-length delivery and the ball struck his pads right in front of the stumps, resulting in an LBW dismissal.

Even after getting two golden opportunities, Rohit managed to score just 28 runs out of 29 balls (including 3 fours and 1 six).

Kohli and Iyer’s Partnership

A 91-run partnership between Kohli and Iyer rescued India’s sinking ship after a collapsing start. However, Shreyas scoring 45 runs out of 62 balls (including 3 fours) had to depart after he was clean bowled by Adam Zampa in the 27th over.

Virat Kohli Survives Due to Maxwell’s Dropped Catch

In the last ball of the 26th over bowled by Cooper Connolly, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell dropped a crucial catch of Virat Kohli when he was at 51. Although the Aussie all-rounder tried his level best by diving to his right and attempting a one-handed catch, the ball didn’t settle firmly onto his hands.

Axar Patel’s Cameo

Despite Axar Patel playing a short innings, his 30-ball-27-runs (including 1 four and 1 six) helped to stitch a 44-run partnership with Kohli after Iyer’s dismissal. 

Virat Kohli Misses Out His 52nd ODI Ton in a Big Run Chase

Although Virat Kohli once again proved himself as the “King of Run Chases” in white-ball cricket, but unfortunately missed out his 52nd ODI century by just 16 runs.

In the fourth ball of the 43rd over bowled by Adam Zampa, Kohli attempted a big shot unnecessarily when he was conveniently compiling runs from singles and doubles in addition to striking five fours. As the ball struck the bottom part of the bat, Ben Dwarshuis took a simple catch near the boundary ropes.

Shockingly, it was a very rare moment for Team India’s run machine not to finish off the run chase.

Rahul and Pandya Play the Best Finishers Role

Team India still required 40 runs out of 44 balls after Virat Kohli’s dismissal, and Hardik Pandya had to join KL Rahul to guide India to the winning target.

On the other side, the Aussie bowlers weren’t ready to give up and put up a tough fight against the 2013 edition’s champions by keeping their hopes alive to enter the finals for the third time.

But, Steven Smith and his men were completely clueless with Hardik’s power-hitting skills as he scored a 28-ball-24-run knock (including 1 four and 3 sixes).

Finally, KL Rahul finished the game in style by smashing a six in the first ball of the 48th over bowled by Glenn Maxwell. He remained unbeaten scoring 42 runs out of 34 balls (including 2 fours and 2 sixes) in a difficult run chase.

Overview of India vs Australia Semi Final 1 CT 2025 Result

Conclusion

As India qualifies for the Champions Trophy 2025 final, the venue to host the last match of the tournament’s ninth edition will be relocated from Pakistan to Dubai. In other words, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore (the previous hosting venue) will no longer host the climax of the tournament scheduled on March 09 (Sunday).

Ultimately, the winner of the second semi-final match (South Africa vs New Zealand on March 05) will travel to Dubai to lock horns against India at the DICS to lift the highly coveted ICC trophy.