India delivered a commanding performance, both with the bat and ball, against Australia to advance to their third consecutive ICC Champions Trophy final. Virat Kohli orchestrated the run chase, surpassing 8000 ODI runs in chases, with consistent support from his teammates.
Kohli expertly navigated a tricky phase early in the innings after Shubman Gill was dismissed in the fifth over. Rohit Sharma, despite being dropped twice, played aggressively, capitalizing on the powerplay. He scored 28 runs before being dismissed by spinner Cooper Connolly. At 43/2, the match was delicately poised. However, Kohli, alongside a determined Shreyas Iyer, stabilized the innings. They focused on rotating the strike against Australia’s spinners, minimizing risks. Their 91-run partnership revived the chase and built a strong platform.
Kohli reached his 74th ODI half-century but was soon dropped. Iyer, who looked solid, was dismissed for 45 by Adam Zampa. Axar Patel then joined Kohli and contributed a quickfire 44 runs off 50 balls, including a six, pushing India closer to victory and maintaining a manageable required run rate.
Despite the slow pitch, Australia managed to prolong the game with timely wickets. Axar was dismissed by Nathan Ellis, and KL Rahul joined Kohli. As the last ten overs began, India needed 65 runs with six wickets in hand. Rahul hit a few boundaries to ease the pressure. However, Kohli was then dismissed for 84. The equation tightened, giving Australia a glimmer of hope.
Hardik Pandya then took charge, smashing three sixes against the leg-spinners, decisively swinging the game in India’s favor. Pandya’s quickfire 28 runs sealed the victory for India with 11 balls remaining.
Earlier, India’s bowling performance was equally impressive, restricting Australia to a manageable 264. India opted for four spinners. While Australia aimed to counter-attack, India’s bowlers, led by Varun Chakravarthy who struck early, consistently applied pressure. Mohammed Shami also posed early threats to the Australian openers. Despite Steven Smith’s resilient innings and Alex Carey’s momentum, Australia were eventually bowled out for 264.
Brief Scores: Australia 264 all out in 49.3 overs (Steven Smith 73, Alex Carey 61; Mohammed Shami 3-48) lost to India 267/6 (Virat Kohli 84, Shreyas Iyer 45, KL Rahul 42*) by 4 wickets
