New Delhi: A year, two months, and 13 days after Australia crushed India’s hopes of winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home, India got their revenge. On Tuesday, India defeated Australia in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025, securing a place in the final.
This win marks a milestone for India, who are now looking like strong contenders to go all the way this time around.
India’s K.L. Rahul completed a chase expertly orchestrated by Virat Kohli. India reached the 2025 Champions Trophy final, beating Australia by four wickets in Dubai. They will face either New Zealand or South Africa in Sunday’s final.
Rohit Sharma’s 22nd win as Indian captain in ICC tournaments came in the Champions Trophy 2025. The only match he has lost as captain in an ICC tournament was the 2023 World Cup final against Australia—a loss that stood out like a black dot on a white canvas for India and Rohit Sharma.
India’s Champions Trophy record is impressive—having won the title in 2013, finished as runners-up in 2017, and now qualifying for the final in 2025. Rohit Sharma has made history as the first captain to lead a team to the finals of four consecutive ICC tournaments: the 2023 WTC final, 2023 ODI World Cup final, 2024 T20 World Cup final, where India emerged champions, and now the 2025 Champions Trophy final.
Closer than it looks
A depleted Australian team, missing regular captain Pat Cummins, premier fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh, put up a valiant effort in the semi-final Tuesday, making for an exciting ODI contest. Led by Steve Smith, the Australians batted first after India lost the toss for the 14th consecutive time, defying odds of 0.006 percent. Smith took charge, setting the tone for the match.
It’s crucial to acknowledge that Australia had opportunities throughout the game that could have swung the result in their favour, with gritty knocks, solid partnerships, disciplined bowling, and dropped catches all playing a role.
Travis Head made a promising start, scoring a quick-fire 39 in the powerplay, only to be dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy’s googly, which helped ease India’s nerves, particularly given his heroic 137 in the 2023 World Cup that had ruled India out of contention, a ghost that did not come back to haunt them this time.
Despite losing Travis Head early, Australian captain Steve Smith played a proactive innings of 73, forming half-century partnerships with Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Alex Carey. However, Australia was unable to convert these partnerships into bigger ones, as India took wickets at regular intervals, preventing them from building momentum.
At one point, Australia seemed poised to set an unprecedented target of 300+ for India, reaching 198/4 in the 37th over. However, the tide turned when India’s frontline fast bowler, Mohammad Shami, bowled Steve Smith out with a full toss. Virat Kohli credited Shami’s accuracy to his “kanche” (Hindi for marbles) skills, which allowed him to precisely target Smith’s stumps. Just five balls later, Glenn Maxwell also fell, swinging the game in India’s favour.
Despite the wickets falling, Australia’s fighting spirit was again on display as wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey played a crucial innings of 60 off 56 balls, propelling Australia to a respectable total of 264. Given the high-stakes nature of the match, this score promised to be a challenging target for India to chase.
Kohli’s chase mastery
India’s chase got off to a rocky start, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill falling early. Shubman Gill was bowled by Ben Dwarshuis for 8 in the fifth over, while Rohit Sharma, despite being dropped twice, could only manage 28 before being dismissed.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer took control of the game, stitching together a composed 91-run partnership in the middle overs. They played risk-free cricket, rotating the strike efficiently and capitalising on boundary-scoring opportunities.
Shreyas Iyer fell for 45, but Virat Kohli ensured India’s chances of losing the knockout game were minimised with a composed 84. Although he missed out on a century, Kohli’s dismissal left India in a comfortable position to chase the target, leaving a more-than-manageable 40 off 44 balls. His innings proved to be a crucial match-winning one, showcasing why he’s renowned as the “Chase Master”. Kohli’s efforts earned him the Man of the Match award.
“I have never focused on those things. When you don’t think of those milestones, they happen. If I get to the three-figure mark, great, but the win is important. For me, those things don’t matter any more,” Kohli said after winning the Man of the Match award.
Kohli surpassed Indian great Sachin Tendulkar to become the player with the most 50-plus scores in ICC ODI events with 24. Kohli is also leading the charts for the most singles in ODI’s since the 2000s with 5,870 singles, Kumar Sangakkara is second on the list with 5,688. With 5,870 runs via singles, Kohli would be the third-highest run-getter in the ODI format for England, while he also would make the top 10 of several other big teams including New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
KL Rahul-Hardik’s finishing touches
While Virat Kohli had done the bulk of the work for India, the win still needed to be sealed. That’s when the duo of K.L. Rahul and Hardik Pandya stepped up to finish the job and guide India into the Champions Trophy final. The pair have had their share of ups and downs, including being banned from the Indian cricket team in 2016 after their appearance on the talk show Koffee with Karan. However, things came full circle for both cricketers as they successfully completed the task at hand for India.
K.L. Rahul walked in at No. 6 after Axar Patel’s dismissal, with India still requiring 87 runs off 90 balls, a situation that was increasingly intense. However, Rahul teamed up with Virat Kohli and later Hardik Pandya to forge crucial partnerships that kept the chase alive. He also hit a six off Glen Maxwell to close the game out on a high.
Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, played a blistering knock of 28 off 24 balls, adorned with three massive sixes. His explosive innings ensured that Australia were never able to close in on India during the finishing stages of the match.
Rahul and Pandya’s late onslaught included five sixes and three fours between them. Notably, India’s total boundary count of 16 fours and seven sixes was still not enough to surpass Australia’s tally of 20 fours and eight sixes. Instead, India’s victory was built on their busy approach, as they faced fewer dot balls (124) compared to Australia (153), and accumulated 158 runs through singles and doubles, outscoring Australia’s 129 runs in this manner.
India, who have booked their spot in the Champions Trophy final scheduled for 9 March (Sunday) still wait to know who they will lock horns with. Their opponent will be determined by the outcome of the second semi-final match between New Zealand and South Africa, set to take place Thursday at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: India vs Travis Head. A familiar battle awaits in the Champions Trophy semi-final
No analytical assessment of India’s bowling in this write-up! It seems only the batsmen were playing who did all the hard work – and the bowlers wee simply incidental to the game. what a shame. Great bowling by Shami and others that restricted Australia to a modest score of 265.