Champions Trophy: Kohli’s 84 leads India to third consecutive final with a 4-wicket victory over Australia.

Dubai, March 4 – Virat Kohli’s commanding 84, coupled with K.L. Rahul’s unbeaten 42 and Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 28, guided India to a four-wicket victory over Australia in the first semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday. With this win, India became the first team to qualify for three consecutive Champions Trophy finals. They will now face the winner of the second semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand on March 9 in Dubai.

India also avenged their 2023 ODI World Cup final loss to Australia with this victory. Chasing 265, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put together a brief 30-run opening stand, with Rohit taking an aggressive approach before Ben Dwarshuis dismissed Gill for 8 in the fifth over. Rohit’s innings of 28, featuring three fours and a six, ended in the eighth over when Cooper Connolly trapped him lbw, marking Australia’s second breakthrough in the powerplay.

Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then stabilized the innings with a vital 91-run stand for the third wicket. Adam Zampa broke the partnership in the 27th over by dismissing Iyer for 45. Kohli, meanwhile, reached his 74th ODI half-century and surpassed Shikhar Dhawan’s record of 701 runs to become India’s highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy history. Kohli further built partnerships with Axar Patel and Rahul to bring India closer to the target.

Zampa finally dismissed Kohli in the 43rd over, giving Australia a glimmer of hope, but Pandya and Rahul ensured no further setbacks with a 34-run partnership off 31 balls. Pandya struck two sixes off Zampa and a four against Ellis before falling in the 48th over. Rahul sealed the win with a six off Glenn Maxwell, taking India home with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, despite half-centuries from captain Steve Smith and Alex Carey, disciplined Indian bowling prevented Australia from reaching 300. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya found early movement, and Shami created an opportunity in the opening over, but Travis Head was dropped on a duck. Shami, however, struck in his next over, dismissing Cooper Connolly for a nine-ball duck, with KL Rahul taking the catch behind the stumps. Head responded with aggressive strokes, hitting Pandya and Shami for multiple boundaries and sixes.

Rohit Sharma introduced Kuldeep Yadav to stem the flow of runs, followed by Varun Chakaravarthy in the ninth over. The move paid off as Chakaravarthy dismissed Head for 39, courtesy of a sharp catch by Shubman Gill at long-off. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne kept the scoreboard ticking, building a steady 56-run stand before Ravindra Jadeja trapped Labuschagne lbw for 29 in the 23rd over. Smith went on to complete his 35th ODI half-century in 68 balls and followed it up with a six off Jadeja. However, Jadeja struck again, dismissing Josh Inglis (11), leaving Australia at 144/4 after 27 overs.

Shami’s return saw him remove Smith for 73, breaking another crucial partnership. Glenn Maxwell failed to make an impact, getting bowled by Axar Patel for 7 in the 38th over. Carey played a stabilizing knock, reaching his fifty off 48 balls and adding 34 runs with Ben Dwarshuis before Chakaravarthy sent the latter back in the 46th over. A direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended Carey’s stay after his well-made 61. Shami dismissed Nathan Ellis (10) in the penultimate over, and Pandya wrapped up the innings by removing Adam Zampa (7), bowling out Australia for 264 in 49.3 overs.

Brief Scores: Australia 264 all out in 49.3 overs (Steve Smith 73, Alex Carey 61; Ravindra Jadeja 2-40, Mohammed Shami 3-48, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-49) lost to India 267/6 in 48.1 overs (Virat Kohli 84, Shreyas Iyer 45; Nathan Ellis 2-49, Adam Zampa 2-60) by four wickets.