India became the first team to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 final.
Team India became the first team to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final as they defeated Australia by four wickets in the semi-final clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (March 4).
Opting to bat first, Australia posted 264/10 on the board in 49.3 overs. While skipper Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61) scored half-centuries, other batters failed to rise to the occasion.
While the seam-bowling duo of Mohammad Shami (3-48 in 10 overs) and Hardik Pandya (1-40 in 5.3 overs) took four wickets between them, the spin trio of Varun Chakaravarthy (2-49 in 10 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (2-40 in 8 overs) and Axar Patel (1-43 in 8 overs) shared five scalps among them.
In reply, the Men in Blue lost Shubman Gill (8) cheaply while captain Rohit Sharma (28) failed to convert his start into a significant score. However, Virat Kohli once stepped up in a knockout fixture for India.
Kohli stitched 91 runs for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer. Adam Zampa broke the partnership by removing Iyer for 45, but Kohli held the one end firmly.
The star batter then added 44 runs for the fourth wicket with Axar Patel and followed it with another crucial 47-run stand with KL Rahul to put India on the verge of victory.
While Kohli got out in the 43rd over after scoring 84 off 98 balls, Hardik Pandya’s blazing cameo (28 off 24 balls) and Rahul’s unbeaten 42* off 34 balls ensured India got over the line with 11 deliveries to spare.
For his match-winning knock, Virat Kohli received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media platform X.
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