Virat Kohli stars as India knocks Australia out of Champions Trophy
The Dubai wicket was ‘completely different’ to the one Australia had played on in Pakistan but skipper Steve Smith refused to concede it disadvantaged the Aussies in their semi final loss against India.
Steve Smith lamented the inexperience of the bowling group which fell a game short of the final at the Champions Trophy but the Australian captain walked away adamant those players would “get bigger and better” after helping his team exceed expectations.
The Australians were undone by the “best chaser in the game” as Virat Kohli helped steer his team to semi-final victory on a Dubai wicket Smith labelled “tired” and “slow”, in stark contrast to those they played on in Pakistan in the pool games.
Even in defeat, having produced the best score on the Dubai pitch making 264 before India chased it down on the back of Kohli’s 84 from 98 balls, Smith refused to concede the strong advantage their opponents had by having all their matches at the same venue.
“Yeah, look, I’m not buying into it. I think it is what it is. India obviously played some really good cricket here,” he said after the defeat.
“The surface kind of suits their style with the spinners that they’ve got and the seamers that they have at their disposal for a wicket like that. They played well, they outplayed us and they deserve the victory.”
A surprise decision to include Cooper Connolly at the top of the order backfired, with the 21-year-old making a duck, while the spin-strong attack which included Tanveer Sangha for his first game of the tournament failed to curb the Indian batters.
The Australian slow bowlers gave up 142 runs from 13.1 overs, with only Adam Zampa taking wickets finishing with 2-60 to end a middling tournament for the first-choice leggie.
But Smith was proud of the effort to get as deep in to the tournament as the Aussies did given the absence of star bowlers including Pat Cummins and Mitch Starc, having also lost Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis on the eve of the tournament.
“I think we’ve got pretty good records in big games in ICC events and I thought the guys turned up and did a really good job,” Smith said.
“It’s obviously a bit of inexperience in our team, particularly our bowling attack. Some new guys there who I thought did a really good job as well. So, they’re going to be better for the exposure to a big event and playing against world-class players like the ones we came up against today and throughout the tournament.
“There were glimpses tonight of some really good stuff as well. There are some really good cricketers in that change room and they’re going to continue to get bigger and better.”
“So, plenty of positives to take from it.
Smith,who top-scored for his team with 73 from 96 balls, and Alex Carey (61 from 57) looked like steering Australia to a total over 300 tamed India’s four-spinner attack, but the Aussies fell short of the kind of knockout score their inexperienced bowlers could defend.
“I think we had our opportunities throughout to post something up above 300. We were probably just that one wicket down too many at a few stages throughout the innings,” he said.
“It’s clearly not the easiest wicket to bat on. The square block as a whole I think has seen a lot of cricket over the last couple of months.
“The wickets we played on, yeah, they’re completely different tracks. This one’s quite slow, two-paced, took some spin. I think the Gaddafi track is arguably one of the best one-day wickets in the world for batting.
“(Kohli) I mean he’s arguably the best chaser the game has seen. He’s done it numerous times against us. He controls the tempo of the game really well, plays to his strengths and takes the game deep. I thought he played really well again tonight.”
KOHLI STARS AS INDIA KNOCKS AUSTRALIA OUT OF CHAMPIONS TROPHY
Virat Kohli produced a trademark innings with a polished 84 as India pulled off a tense chase to beat Australia by four wickets in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy.
Set 265 for victory, India lost the 36-year-old Kohli in the closing overs but KL Rahul’s unbeaten 42 steered the team home with 11 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium.
They will face South Africa or New Zealand in the final on Sunday in Dubai, with India playing all their matches at the venue after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan for the eight-nation event. Lahore was the alternative venue for the final had India missed out.
“This game is all about pressure, especially in big games like semis and finals,” said player of the match Kohli.
“If you go deep into the innings and have wickets in hand, the opposition usually gives in and the game becomes easier. It is very important to control your impulses while the game is going on.”
Australia elected to bat and posted 264 all out after strong knocks from captain Steve Smith, who made 73, and Alex Carey, who hit 61.
In reply India lost two early wickets before Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, who made 45, put the chase back on track in their partnership of 91.
“I take pride in doing what my team wants,” added the 36-year-old Kohli.
“Those things (individual records) don’t matter anymore for me. It’s just about stepping out and hopefully doing the job for the team.”
Smith said of Kohli: “He’s arguably the best chaser the game has seen. He’s done it numerous times against us. He controls the tempo of the game really well, plays to his strengths and takes the game deep.”
Cooper Connolly, in the team in place of the injured Matthew Short who was forced out of the tournament on Monday, trapped skipper Rohit Sharma lbw on 28 for his first ODI wicket.
Kohli and Iyer then took stock against an inexperienced Australian attack missing fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
But leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled Iyer before Nathan Ellis rattled the stumps of Axar Patel for 27.
Kohli, who hit an unbeaten 100 in India’s group-stage win over arch-rivals Pakistan, stood firm in another stand with Rahul.
Kohli was dropped by Glenn Maxwell off Connolly on 51 but Zampa denied him another ton when he clubbed a googly to Ben Dwarshuis at long-on to leave India at 225-5 and give Australia a glimmer of hope.
But Rahul kept calm and with Hardik Pandya, who hit three sixes in his 28, put on 34 off 31 balls to ease the pressure.
Ellis removed Pandya, via another catch at long-on, but Rahul hit the winning six as a largely Indian crowd roared in delight.
“I thought the bowlers did a really good job,” said Smith.
“They worked hard throughout, the spinners squeezed and enabled us take the game a bit deeper than potentially could have done.”
Excellent innings from Alex Carey. Played the situation beautifully, manipulated the field expertly, showed gears. He's a vastly improved one-day player.
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) March 4, 2025
Earlier, Australia lost regular wickets but kept fighting back with 50-plus stands between Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who made 29, and then the captain and Carey.
India’s pace spearhead Mohammed Shami stood out with figures of 3-48 as Australia’s innings lasted 49.3 overs.
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Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Opener Travis Head gave the team a quick start with his 39 after losing his partner Connolly for a nine-ball duck.
India calmly knocked off the runs though, gaining a measure of revenge against Australia for their 2023 World Cup final defeat in Ahmedabad.
The second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand is on Wednesday in Lahore.
Originally published as Virat Kohli stars as India knocks Australia out of Champions Trophy
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