Virat Kohli stars as India beat Australia to qualify for final

The Indian men's cricket team qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final with a four-wicket victory over Australia in the semi-finals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Virat Kohli once again lived up to his reputation as one of the most effective batsmen in the world of cricket while chasing a total, top-scoring with 84 off 98 balls while Mohammed Shami led the bowling attack with figures of 3/48.

Kohli’s Player of the Match knock saw him surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most 50-plus scores in ICC ODI tournaments. He now has 24 while Sachin had 23.

Chasing 265 for victory - the highest-ever in a knockout match against Australia in an ICC tournament - India made an aggressive start with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill taking the attack to the opposition bowlers.

However, Sharma, dropped twice in the first three overs, fell for 28 off 29 in the eighth over after Gill had already departed in the fifth over to Ben Dwarshuis.

With India at 55/2 at the end of the powerplay, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer stitched together a vital 91-run partnership, steadying the innings with smart rotation of strike and timely boundaries. Kohli brought up his half-century in the 25th over and survived a close call soon after as Glenn Maxwell dropped him.

Just as India looked in control, Adam Zampa broke the stand by sneaking through Iyer’s defence. Axar Patel’s attacking 27 added quick runs before Nathan Ellis rattled his stumps. KL Rahul then joined Kohli with India needing 87 off 90 balls to seal the win.

While Rahul took charge of the scoring, Kohli anchored the innings until Zampa dismissed him in the 43rd over, giving Australia a slim opening.

However, new batter Hardik Pandya’s knock of 36 off 33 balls and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 42 off 34 deliveries helped India win the match with 11 balls and four wickets to spare.

India will take on the winner of the other semi-final clash between South Africa and New Zealand for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title. The final will be played in Dubai on Sunday.

Earlier, Australia opted to bat first after India lost their 14th consecutive toss in ODIs.

Mohammed Shami struck early, dismissing opener Cooper Connolly for a nine-ball duck in the third over before Travis Head’s brisk 39 off 33 balls was cut short by Varun Chakravarthy in the ninth.

At 63/2 at the end of the powerplay, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne steadied Australia with a 56-run partnership before Ravindra Jadeja got two quick scalps. He removed Labuschagne and Josh Inglis in quick succession, leaving Australia at 144/4 after 27 overs.

Despite Alex Carey’s fighting 61 off 57 balls, Shami dismissed Australian captain Smith in the 37th over and Axar Patel bowled Glenn Maxwell in the very next over to further dent Australia’s hopes.

Australia’s lower order failed to provide resistance with Ben Dwarshuis (19 off 29) departing in the 46th over while Carey was run out by Shreyas Iyer at the start of the 48th over.

Their final two wickets fell cheaply as Australia were bowled out for 264 before seeing out their full quota of 50 overs.

IND vs AUS ICC Champions Trophy 2025, semi-final brief scores: Australia 264/10 in 49.3 overs (Steven Smith 79, Mohammed Shami 3/48) lost to India 267/6 in 48.1 overs (Virat Kohli 84, Nathan Ellis 2/49) by four wickets.

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