Dubai : India entered the Champions Trophy final after a four-wicket win over Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. India were helped chase down the target of 265 by a composed 84 from Virat Kohli and a 45 from Shreyas Iyer. Australia were uncharacteristically shoddy in the field, dropping Rohit Sharma twice and Kohli once. Earlier, Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61) scored half centuries. The scars of that World Cup final may not have completely healed, but India landed a knockout blow on Australia in a major ICC one-day international tournament for the first time in 14 years. 

Australia won the toss in the first semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and scored a solid total of 264 runs, thanks to half-centuries by Steven Smith and Alex Carey. India kept the same team as their last match, using four main spinners in their bowling attack. On a new pitch, and against an Australian batting side eager to fight back, India couldn’t control the game as well as they did against New Zealand earlier. Still, they made an impact throughout.

The bowling started strong with Varun Chakaravarthy getting Travis Head out on his very first ball. Head, who scored 39 runs off 33 balls, struggled at first, managing just one run off his first 11 balls before picking up speed. Mohammed Shami troubled both Australian openers—Head and Cooper Connolly—with his bowling angle. Head was lucky to survive when Shami dropped a catch off his own bowling, but Shami got Connolly out after beating him several times, ending Connolly’s slow 9-ball score of zero with an edge.

Even though Head started scoring faster, India stopped him early and took control. Then came Steven Smith, Australia’s captain, who batted confidently and hit a boundary off Axar Patel early on. He had some luck too—an inside edge didn’t knock the bails off, and Shami dropped a tough catch later. India kept things tight, stopping boundaries for 50 balls while Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were batting. Labuschagne broke that with a nice shot and tried attacking the spinners, but Ravindra Jadeja got him out, ending their 56-run stand. Smith reached his fifty in 66 balls, his fifth fifty in seven ICC ODI knockout matches, and held the innings together. However, Josh Inglis got out cheaply, giving an easy catch for 11.

Then Alex Carey joined Smith and boosted Australia’s scoring. Their 54-run partnership was quick, with Carey attacking the spinners. After Smith got out for 73, missing a full toss from Shami, Carey took charge. He scored a fifty in 48 balls and kept Australia going, even as Axar got Glenn Maxwell out right after a boundary. Carey made Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling look weak, but just when he was set for a big finish, Shreyas Iyer ran him out with a direct hit. Carey’s 61 ended with Australia at eight wickets down and less than three overs left.