India Crushes Australia to Storm Into Champions Trophy Final
New Delhi. India humiliated Australia and knocked them out of the Champions Trophy. In the semi-final played in Dubai, Rohit Sena defeated Australia by 4 wickets and made it to the final with pride. Team India may face South Africa or New Zealand in the final. Virat Kohli played an important role in India's victory. Who played an innings of 84 runs and brought Team India to the threshold of victory. However, during this time Kohli missed his century by 16 runs. The Indian team also settled the account of the defeat in the 2023 ODI World Cup final to Australia. The final of the Champions Trophy will be played on March 9. With India reaching the final, it is now decided that the final will be played in Dubai. India has reached the final for the third time.
India’s Chase and Victory
Chasing the target of 265 runs, the Indian team won the match by scoring 267 runs for 6 wickets in 48.1 overs. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill shared a 30-run partnership for the first wicket. Gill was dismissed after scoring 8 runs off 11 balls. After this, Rohit Sharma returned to the pavilion after scoring 28 runs. Virat Kohli played the highest innings of 84 runs while Shreyas Iyer scored 45 runs off 62 balls. Axar Patel was dismissed after scoring 27 runs. Kohli and Iyer shared a 91-run partnership for the third wicket while Kohli along with Axar added 44 runs for the fourth wicket. After this, Virat shared a 47-run partnership with KL Rahul for the fifth wicket. Hardik Pandya was dismissed after scoring 28 runs off 24 balls. KL Rahul hit a six to give India a thrilling win. KL Rahul scored 42 not out while Ravindra Jadeja returned unbeaten after scoring 2 runs. Nathan Ellis and Adam Jampa took two wickets each for Australia.
- Key Partnerships:
- Kohli-Iyer: 91 runs (third wicket)
- Kohli-Axar: 44 runs (fourth wicket)
- Kohli-Rahul: 47 runs (fifth wicket)
Australia’s Batting Performance
Earlier, the Indian bowlers performed disciplined. But Australia scored 264 runs on the basis of half-centuries by Steve Smith and Alex Carey. Australian captain Smith won the toss and batted first and scored 73 runs in 96 balls with the help of four fours and a six. However, the batsmen could not take much advantage of the favorable pitch and kept losing wickets by playing irresponsible shots. Smith was the architect of the Australian innings who made three half-century partnerships. He added 52 for the second wicket with Travis Head, 56 for the third wicket with Marnus Labuschagne and 54 for the fifth wicket with Carey. Carey scored 61 runs in 57 balls which included eight fours and a six.
regular intervals.
- Steve Smith’s Key Partnerships:
- 52 runs with Travis Head (second wicket)
- 56 runs with Marnus Labuschagne (third wicket)
- 54 runs with Alex Carey (fifth wicket)
Key Moments in the Match
Australia's score would have been better if both of them had played for a little longer. Head, who often proves to be a headache for the Indian team, got many lives which he could not take advantage of. And returned after scoring 39 runs. On the very first ball of the match, Mohammad Shami dropped his return catch, then he escaped being run out and twice the ball missed the stumps by a narrow margin. Head hit some spectacular shots which included a six to Hardik Pandya and three consecutive fours to Shami.
This also helped Australia recover from the initial setbacks. Cooper Connolly, who started the innings with Head, was out early. Connolly got a place in the team due to Matthew Short's injury. Spinner Varun Chakraborty, who took five wickets against New Zealand in the last match, sent Head back whose catch was taken by Shubman Gill in the deep while running. Labuschagne was dismissed LBW by Ravindra Jadeja. At the same time, Josh Inglis was caught by Virat Kohli in short covers off Jadeja. Smith continued to score runs from the other end and hit a straight six to Jadeja. He missed Shami's full toss and the ball hit his stumps.
