India vs Australia 1st Semi-Final at Dubai, Champions Trophy 2025, Mar 04 2025

India vs Australia Live Blog: Kohli gets a life but Australia recover with Shreyas wicket

Hardik Changes the Game!

Hardik Pandya is playing strong! He hits two big sixes in a row against Zampa. The ball flies high and far down the ground! What a powerful shot! 🎯💥

Ellis is Bowling Smart

Nathan Ellis is making the ball move in the air! In the 46th over, he gives away only one run. He is not trying any fancy tricks. Instead, he is focusing on hitting the stumps and stopping the Indian batters from playing big shots. 🎯👏

Even though there was pressure, and Sangha gave away a six earlier, Ellis keeps his cool and bowls very well!

Kohli is Out! 😲

Big moment in the match! Zampa gets Virat Kohli out. The game is not over yet! Can Australia fight back? Let’s see! 🏏🔥

Rahul Goes for a Big Shot!

KL Rahul is ready to attack! He sees a chance and plays a strong shot over the bowler’s head.

He plays some quick runs:
➡ 1 run
➡ 1 run
➡ 4 runs! (A great boundary!)
➡ 2 runs

Next over, he notices the fielders are up, so he decides to hit big again!

➡ 1 run
➡ 2 runs
➡ 1 run
➡ 1 run
➡ 4 runs! (Another boundary!)

Zampa puts fielders back, but Rahul is not afraid! He steps forward and hits a big six! 💪🔥

India now needs only 41 runs from 46 balls to win!

A Small Chance for Australia?

Nathan Ellis bowls a great ball and knocks down Axar Patel’s off-stump! That means Patel is OUT!

India now has:
🏏 KL Rahul – A strong batter
🏏 Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja – Two all-rounders who can bat and bowl!

They need 87 runs from 90 balls to win.

And don’t forget… Virat Kohli is still there! He is always dangerous in a run-chase! 🏏🔥

Axar is playing with confidence! He is not just standing there—he is attacking the ball. First, he hits a big shot over extra cover, even though the bowler gave him a tricky delivery. Then, he smashes another shot over midwicket. Axar is not just in the team to change the batting order. He is there to help make the run chase easier for the next players. India trusts him to hit big shots at the right time!

Kohli is also playing smartly against spin bowling today. He has faced 45 balls and scored 44 runs. He only missed 13 balls, which is very good! This is the old, strong Kohli we know. He is not struggling with the slower balls. Instead, he keeps finding gaps in the field. He has taken 26 singles and even run for three twos. He is playing like a champion! 💪🏏

Kohli is lucky, but Shreyas is out!

Virat Kohli gets a second chance! Australia was trying something different to get wickets, so they placed Maxwell in a very close position at short cover. The bowler, Cooper Connolly, tossed the ball cleverly, making Kohli think he could flick it easily. But instead, the ball hit the edge of his bat and almost went to Maxwell. However, the bowler also moved toward the ball, which might have confused Maxwell, and Kohli was safe!

But just two balls later, Adam Zampa bowled a tricky one. The ball came in fast and low, and Shreyas Iyer tried to cut it. That’s exactly what Zampa wanted! The ball skidded off the pitch, went past Shreyas’s bat, and crashed into the stumps. What a clever ball! Even the great Shane Warne would have been proud of this smart bowling! 🎯

Kohli Chasing Sachin’s Record

Virat Kohli is getting closer to a big record! He has now scored 68 times over 50 runs while chasing a target. The great Sachin Tendulkar had 69 such scores. People once thought Sachin’s record would never be broken. But now, Kohli is almost there—soon, he might go past it!

A Tough Chase

Which is harder—chasing 350 runs on an easy pitch or 250 runs on a slow one?

When chasing a big score, everything needs to go right, but at least the pitch helps the batters. But when chasing a smaller score on a slow pitch, it’s tricky! If one batter gets out, the new player takes time to adjust, and hitting the ball into gaps is tough.

Earlier, Australia thought the pitch was very dry and wanted to score big. But later, it turned out that batting was not so hard. Even Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, wasn’t sure about the pitch. At the toss, he said he didn’t know what to do—so maybe losing the toss was good for him!

Kohli vs. Zampa – A Fun Battle!

Virat Kohli loves playing on the front foot—he moves forward to attack the ball and scare the bowlers. It’s like he’s saying, “I’m coming for you! You don’t scare me!”

But against spin bowlers, he plays differently. He moves back and uses the turn of the ball to his advantage. He doesn’t usually play the square cut (a special shot to hit the ball sideways), but today he did it against Adam Zampa!

Zampa, the smart Australian spinner, didn’t stay quiet. He bowled a tricky “googly”—a ball that spins the opposite way. It fooled Kohli! The ball turned so much that the umpire didn’t give him out for LBW.

This battle between Kohli and Zampa is exciting to watch!

Tough Middle Overs!

India wants to keep scoring runs, just like Australia did earlier when Smith and Labuschagne played smartly. They kept taking singles and didn’t let India’s bowlers take control.

But Australia is trying to stop India from doing the same! Right after the powerplay (when only two fielders are allowed outside the circle), they brought in their best spin bowler, Adam Zampa.

Virat Kohli looks ready! The way he hit his first shot, a strong cover drive, shows that he knows he has to improve against leg-spin. He’s been second-best in recent matches, but today, he looks focused!

Big Wicket! Rohit Sharma is Out!

Young Australian bowler Cooper Connolly is having a mixed day! He didn’t do well while batting or fielding, but with the ball—he struck gold!

Rohit Sharma tried to sweep the ball, but he missed, and it hit his front pad. The umpire raised his finger—OUT! Australia is celebrating around the 21-year-old bowler. Connolly needed this moment, and now, he feels like a hero!

Cricket is a crazy game. One moment you struggle, the next moment you shine!

Oh No! Gill is Out!

India was lucky earlier when Australia dropped some catches, but now Australia gets lucky!

Shubman Gill, India’s top batsman, got out in an unlucky way. The ball hit his bat and bounced back onto the stumps—OUT!

Ben Dwarshuis, the Australian bowler, did the trick. He took some pace off the ball, made Gill play his shot too early, and got his wicket!

Now, Virat Kohli walks in. Will he face leg-spin now, or will Australia play it safe?

Rohit Gets Another Life!

Rohit Sharma was playing aggressively, trying to score fast runs. He hit the ball in the air over the off-side, but it wasn’t timed well.

The fielder, Marnus Labuschagne, ran back a long way, dived, and… he dropped it!

Two years ago, in 2023, this would have been a catch. But today, in 2025, the ball slipped out of his hands. India gets lucky again!

Rohit Dropped Again!

Cooper Connolly, playing his first match of the tournament, had a big chance to get Rohit Sharma out.

Rohit played an attacking shot, but the ball went straight to Connolly. He should have caught it easily, but he dropped it!

Will he regret this missed chance? A few balls later, he finally got Rohit out—so maybe not!

All Eyes on Rohit Sharma!

As Rohit walked onto the field, he looked up, feeling the pressure. Even after 20 years of playing cricket, big matches still make him nervous.

How will he play today? In 2023, during the World Cup final, he played aggressively and got out early, which hurt India. Will he play differently this time?

Shubman Gill, his batting partner, is also on the field with his MRF bat—the same bat brand used in the IPL! Will it bring him luck today?

The match is full of action! Who will win? Let’s see! 🎉🏏

Australia’s Strong Start!

Steven Smith played a great innings, scoring 73 runs from 96 balls. Alex Carey also did very well, making 61 runs from 57 balls. Because of them, Australia has a good total. But India still has a chance to chase it!

Mohammed Shami Shines!

Shami has not played cricket for a long time, but today he was amazing! Everyone thought fast bowlers would not do well on this pitch, but Shami proved them wrong. He took three wickets! At the start, he moved the ball well, and at the end, he used slow balls and perfect yorkers to trouble the batters.

Varun Chakravarthy also did a great job! He took the wicket of Travis Head when he was looking dangerous.

Can Australia Defend This Total?

Australia still has good bowlers to fight back. Nathan Ellis has bowled very well in this tournament, and he will enjoy bowling on this pitch. Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner, will also be a big threat. Did you know? Zampa has dismissed Virat Kohli five times in the last six matches! Kohli does not score much against leg-spin—only 9 runs on average.

Amazing Fielding! Shreyas Iyer’s Direct Hit!

Alex Carey is out! Shreyas Iyer made an incredible throw from 45 yards away and hit the stumps directly! What a moment! He also caught the last wicket for India while looking straight into the sun!

Australia was doing very well in the middle overs, scoring 147 runs at a steady pace. But after Smith and Maxwell got out, Australia lost momentum. Their total is still strong, and with the pitch helping spin later, they can still put up a good fight.

Alex Carey’s Brilliant Fifty!

Alex Carey played smartly against spin bowling. He kept moving and played some great sweep and reverse sweep shots. India was so worried about these shots that they gave him easier balls to hit straight down the ground!

Carey was scoring quickly with Smith—only 31 dot balls in 9.4 overs, and the run rate was 5.58. But after Smith and Maxwell got out, Australia slowed down. In the last few overs, they have played 23 dot balls in 6.2 overs, and the run rate dropped to 5.07.

Smith and Maxwell are out!

Oh no! He missed an easy ball.

India brought in their fast bowlers because spin wasn’t working against these two strong batters. They needed a breakthrough—and they got it! Now, they might try bowlers like Varun or Kuldeep.

But wait! The new batter coming in is really good at playing spin. If he gets going, he could be unstoppable!

Here comes Glenn Maxwell… Oh! He’s out too! Australia’s lower-order batters are now exposed. India is back in the game!

Wicket!
• 1 run
• 6 runs
Wicket!

Australia was aiming for 280 runs, but now, with these quick wickets, they might only reach 250. Thanks to a great delivery from Shami and a smart ball from Axar Patel!

Australia was in control, but things are changing!

Carey and Smith built a strong 50-run partnership in just 54 balls. Carey scored 38 of those runs—his batting has really changed the game!

Alex Carey is using the sweep shot again and again! This shot can be very tricky for spinners, but it also makes life difficult for the captain.

In his first 18 balls, Carey played the sweep four times. The last one was against India’s mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, and it went all the way for a big shot!

Seeing this, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, changed the field. He moved one fielder closer and another one back. But Carey was smart! When he saw that Kuldeep Yadav bowled a slightly higher ball, he got ready and hit it hard. He just needed to get past the fielders, and he did it easily, scoring four runs with very little risk!

Carey’s Sweep Shots

Alex Carey loves playing the sweep shot! In just his first 18 balls, he played four of them. One of those shots, against India’s tricky spinner Varun Chakravarthy, was hit so well that it went for a six!

Seeing this, India’s captain Rohit Sharma changed the field. He moved one fielder closer and another further back. But Carey was smart! In the next over, he saw that Kuldeep Yadav bowled a slightly higher ball. So, he hit it hard and sent it past the fielders for another four runs!

Smith is in Control

Steve Smith is playing very carefully against Kuldeep Yadav. He is watching the ball closely and choosing his shots wisely.

In the 32nd over, one ball spun towards him, and he played a beautiful straight shot over the field. On the next ball, he just turned his bat slightly and sent the ball safely to the side for a single run.

India had a small chance to get him out! The ball hit Smith’s bat, then his pad, and rolled back to the stumps! But guess what? The bails didn’t fall off! India must have wished for some magic to knock them over!

Smith Reaches Fifty!

Australia is scoring runs very fast—more than five runs per over! India has not allowed any team to do this in the Champions Trophy until now. But Steve Smith is making it happen!

📊 81 – That’s Smith’s batting average in ICC tournament knockout matches. He always plays well in big games!

Smith is showing great skills on a pitch that is not easy to bat on. He knows when to attack and when to wait. At one point, he played 10 balls without scoring, but he stayed calm. Then, in his next seven balls, he smashed a six and a four!

But on the other side, Josh Inglis is out! Ravindra Jadeja bowled a tricky ball, and Inglis mistimed his shot. The ball popped up, and a fielder at short cover caught it easily.

🏏 160 – That’s how many catches Virat Kohli has taken in ODIs! He has now equaled the record of Ricky Ponting. Only Mahela Jayawardene (218 catches) is ahead!

Jadeja Takes a Wicket!

What an interesting day for Ravindra Jadeja!

First, he accidentally bumped into Marnus Labuschagne at the bowler’s end, stopping a quick run. Then, the umpires told him to remove the tape on his left arm. And now, he has taken Labuschagne’s wicket!

India has been using different bowlers in different roles. Axar Patel is batting higher in the order and bowling early. Kuldeep Yadav is bowling at the end of the innings. Varun Chakravarthy is India’s surprise weapon. With all these changes, Jadeja hasn’t been getting many chances. In fact, before this match, he only had three wickets in the whole tournament!

But today, when he got his first wicket, he looked so happy. He placed his hand on his heart, as if saying, “Finally!”

Australia Playing Fast Bowling Carefully

Australia is very careful when playing against fast bowlers. At the start, Travis Head attacked Hardik Pandya, trying to score quickly. Now, Steven Smith is doing the same against Mohammed Shami.

Smith is playing risky shots! He hit a powerful drive, and the ball almost got caught by the bowler, but Shami dropped it. It came back to him very fast! You might think Smith would be more careful after that, but no! On the very next ball, he moves across the stumps and tries a fancy scoop shot. Earlier, he even ran forward to hit Shami. Smith is taking big chances today!

Australia’s Team Choices

Australia made some surprising choices for this match. Some people are not sure if they made the right decisions.

One big change was making Cooper Connolly open the batting. He has not done well as an opener before, and today, he struggled again. Maybe they wanted to keep other players in their usual positions, but was it a good idea?

Another interesting choice was picking Tanveer Sangha, a young leg-spin bowler. He is very talented, but Australia usually likes to have more fast bowlers. Maybe they chose him because the pitch looked dry. But if Starc, Cummins, or Hazlewood were available, would they have done the same? We will have to wait and see if this was the right decision.

Smith vs spin

Australia is playing really well! They are not having trouble with the spin bowlers. They are still taking singles and keeping the scoreboard moving. Maybe the pitch is helping them. In India’s last match, the pitch was older, and their spinners made it very hard for New Zealand to even score small runs.

Now, Steven Smith is on the field, and he is really smart. He knows how to control the ball. One of his best skills is finding solutions to problems. Here, he decided that stepping forward to the ball is the best way to play. He has done this three times already in the 17th, 18th, and 19th overs.

Marnus Labuschagne is also playing well. He hit a great sweep shot for four runs, helping Australia reach 100 runs in just the 21st over! India must find a way to stop these two batsmen. If they don’t, Australia will build a strong score, and the big-hitters coming later will make it even tougher.

Usually, teams score around 235 runs in this tournament in Dubai. But Australia looks like they will score much more than that!

Smith Gets Lucky!

Wow! That was a close call for Steve Smith! He tried to hit the ball, but it touched the inside edge of his bat, bounced off his leg, and went straight to the stumps. It even hit the stumps hard! But guess what? The bails didn’t fall!

Smith just stood there, watching everything happen. Maybe he could have stopped the ball, but he didn’t want to accidentally knock the stumps over himself.

That was the last ball of a fantastic over by Axar Patel—no runs given in this one (14th over).

The spinners are making it difficult for the batters! The ball is slowing down, and runs are not coming easily. In the last five overs, only 22 runs have been scored, and one batter is already out.

Kuldeep starts the eighth over—no big runs yet.

Varun comes in for the ninth over, and Head is out! A big wicket for India! The over goes: 1 run, WICKET, dot ball, 1 run, 2 runs, 1 run.

With two right-handed batters now, Axar is brought in to bowl. First ball—dot. Next comes a four! Then more dot balls and a single.

Varun is back in the 11th over. He gives away just four runs—tight bowling!

Axar bowls the 12th over, and the fielders are covering the boundary well. Just a few singles in this over.

Playing against spin will only get harder! In the second innings of the Champions Trophy in Dubai, spinners have taken wickets more easily, with an average of 25 runs per wicket. In the first innings, batters have scored more, averaging 42 runs per wicket. The run rate is also lower in the second innings (4.18) compared to the first (4.81).

Australia will need to work hard to score against spin!

Varun gets Head out!

Varun was a surprise pick for this match, and he has made a big impact!

Head, who played so well against Bumrah in the 2023 final, is out on the very first ball he faces from Varun. What a huge moment for India!

Varun is a special kind of bowler, and India took a chance on him. He is the oldest player to make his debut in One Day cricket for India. In his last match, he took five wickets and said he has three types of deliveries—one spins to the right, one spins to the left, and one goes straight.

This time, he bowled a ball that spun just a little to the left, making it hard for Head to hit. And just like that, Head is out! A big wicket for India! 🎉

Travis Head is playing smart cricket! 😊

He knows how to play the cut shot well. He is also very good at pulling the ball. But what makes him special is the way he plays unexpected shots! One of them is the pick-up shot. He already used it to hit a big six over square leg and a four through midwicket against Hardik Pandya. And guess what? Hardik’s deliveries weren’t even bad! It’s just that Head has understood the pitch. The ball is not coming fast, so he planned to attack Hardik during the powerplay when only two fielders are outside the circle.

Head is not just hitting the ball randomly. He is thinking and playing smartly! Australia is off to a strong start—53 runs without losing a wicket in 7.2 overs. 🔥🏏

Head is Out! 🚀

Travis Head was playing strong! He hit three big boundaries (balls that go to the fence and give four runs) in a row. Because of this, Shami had to change his plan.

The runs from Head in that over:
2️⃣ – 4️⃣ – 4️⃣ – 4️⃣ – • – •

Shami decided to bowl from a different angle, but Head was too powerful! His strong shots changed the game.

At first, Head had only 1 run from 11 balls. But suddenly, he started playing fast and reached 26 runs from 19 balls! 🚀

India usually brings Axar Patel as the first spinner in the powerplay (first six overs), but because Head was playing so well, they chose Kuldeep Yadav instead. One player is making a big difference in this important match!

Shami’s Magic Over! 🎩🔥

Mohammed Shami showed his amazing bowling skills! He bowled a great over, making the batter miss the ball many times. And in the end, he got the wicket of Cooper Connolly!

Here’s how the over went:
• – • – 1w (wide ball) – • – • – • – W (Wicket!)

India was very careful with Shami because he was coming back from an injury. Before this tournament, he played a practice series against England. His speed was a little slow then, but now, he is back to his best! 💪🔥

In this Champions Trophy, Shami is bowling fast and dangerous again. His speed is back to late 130 km/h (which is very quick), and he is making the ball move in the air and off the pitch.

In this over, Shami tricked Connolly. He kept bowling from around the wicket, making Connolly think the ball would come inside. But suddenly, the ball moved away and hit the edge of the bat. OUT! 🎯

Here’s an interesting fact:
👉 When Shami bowls to left-hand batters from around the wicket, his average is 22.5.
👉 From over the wicket, his average is 34.62.

That means he was using his best skill to take the wicket! 🏏🔥

Travis Head is struggling!

The pitch is not good for batting today. Travis Head tried to hit two big shots—one towards extra cover and one pull shot—but he couldn’t hit them properly. That’s not normal for him!

Something strange happened in the first over. Head hit the ball in the air, and it went straight to the bowler, Mohammed Shami. But Shami dropped the catch! That could change the whole game.

Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, was listening to the sound of Head’s bat. He says that sometimes Head looks a little awkward, but he still hits the ball very hard. That’s why bowlers have to be very careful. If they make even a small mistake, Head will punish them with a big shot!

A fun fact:
India has lost 14 coin tosses in a row in One Day Internationals (ODIs) since the World Cup final in 2023! The chance of that happening is so small—almost impossible! Maybe there is a better chance of finding life on Mars! 😆

Something funny:
Every time a team plays against Australia, they start with a “wide” ball. It happened again today!

• Shami’s first over: Wide, dot ball, dot ball, 1 run, dot ball, dot ball, dot ball.
• Hardik’s first over: Wide, dot ball, dot ball, dot ball, dot ball, dot ball, dot ball.

Looks like both bowlers started the same way! Let’s see what happens next in this exciting match! 🎉🏏

India vs Australia – A Big Match Coming Up!

There is a very big cricket match coming soon! India and Australia will play in the Champions Trophy semi-final. These two teams have played many big matches before, and sometimes India wins, and sometimes Australia wins.

India Wants to Win This Time

In 2023, India had a very strong team. They won many matches, but in the final, Australia stopped them from winning the World Cup. That was a very sad day for Indian fans. Now, in this new tournament, India has another chance to win against Australia!

This time, Australia has some problems. Their best fast bowlers are not playing, and the match is in Dubai, where the pitch helps spin bowlers more. India has strong spin bowlers, which can make it harder for Australia to bat. But Australia still has dangerous players like Travis Head, who played amazingly in the last World Cup final.

Big Players to Watch

For India, Rohit Sharma is a very powerful batsman. He played well in the group matches but has not made a big score yet. This match is very important for him!

For Australia, Glenn Maxwell is a special player. He plays very fast against spin bowlers, but sometimes he also loses his wicket easily. India has strong spinners, so it will be exciting to see who wins this battle!

India’s Possible Team

1. Rohit Sharma (captain)
2. Shubman Gill
3. Virat Kohli
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. Axar Patel
6. KL Rahul (wicketkeeper)
7. Hardik Pandya
8. Ravindra Jadeja
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Mohammed Shami
11. Varun Chakravarthy

Australia’s Possible Team

1. Travis Head
2. Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper)
3. Steven Smith (captain)
4. Marnus Labuschagne
5. Cooper Connolly
6. Alex Carey
7. Glenn Maxwell
8. Ben Dwarshuis
9. Nathan Ellis
10. Spencer Johnson
11. Adam Zampa

Pitch and Weather

The match will happen in Dubai, where the pitch is slow, and spin bowlers do well. The weather will be sunny and warm, with a temperature of 29°C. The team that wins the toss might choose to bat first because the pitch gets slower later in the game.

Fun Facts

• Since 2010, India and Australia have played 46 ODI matches, and both teams have won 23 times each!
• India and Australia have met in the Champions Trophy four times. India won two, Australia won one, and one match had no result.
• India has lost the toss 13 times in a row!

A Special Match for India’s Big Players

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja have been playing for many years. They won the 2013 Champions Trophy, and Kohli also won the 2011 World Cup. This might be one of their last big tournaments, so they want to win another trophy before they retire.

Will India take revenge for the 2023 World Cup loss? Or will Australia stop them again? We will find out soon in this exciting semi-final! 🎉🏏