Virat Kohli delivered a chase masterclass to knock Australia out of the tournament and send India to the final with a four-wicket win in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday in Dubai.
India finally savoured the sweet taste of revenge of the 2023 ODI World Cup heartbreak, which now became a distant memory as India relished its four-wicket victory in the semi-final.
By chasing down a competitive 265-run target, India toppled the record by completing its highest-successful run chase against Australia in an ICC event, bettering the previous best chase of 261 in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final.
India began its pursuit of the 265-run target with a touch of caution. Shubman Gill looked jittery in his approach, while India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, remained undaunted and stuck to his early blitzkrieg approach.
In his policy of playing fearless cricket, Rohit received his first lifelines when Cooper Connolly dropped a sitter. He received a second chance after Marnus Labuschagne sprinted towards the ball and got hold of it but eventually fluffed it as he landed on the ground.
With India showing signs of nerves getting the better of them, Australia saw the opening and capitalised on the opportunity. Ben Dwarshuis drew the first blood with a delivery angling into the right-handed star. Gill tried to dab it to third man and dragged the ball straight into the stumps.
Rohit soon followed in his footsteps after being pinned in front of the stumps by Connolly on 28(29). Virat initiated the recovery phase with Shreyas Iyer and laid the foundation for India’s success.
Virat relied on his basics and trademark style, while Shreyas added a couple of unorthodox shots from his artillery. The duo raised a 91-run partnership before Adam Zampa castled Shreyas on 45(62).
Axar Patel came in, played a couple of shots, and departed with a score of 27(30). Virat took a step closer towards his 52nd ODI century, with KL Rahul maintaining his strike rate at 100 to steer India towards victory.
Virat tried to up the ante and finish the job early for India by taking the fight against Zampa. He tried to slog it but connected with the bottom of his bat. The ball sailed to Dwarshuis, who took a straightforward catch to bring an end to Virat’s knock on 84(98).
With the ball-to-run ratio going neck and neck, Hardik Pandya blazed back-to-back towering sixes off Zampa to turn the momentum in India’s favour.
Hardik (28) tried to put the final nail in the coffin by seeing off the game in style. He went for glory but holed it straight to Glenn Maxwell. KL Rahul finished it off in style and smoked the ball into the stands over wide long-on to send India to the final.
Earlier in the match, after Australia elected to bat first after winning the toss, they were off to a poor start as the experiment to have Cooper Connolly open did not pay off, with him going for a nine-ball duck after being caught behind by KL Rahul on a Mohammed Shami delivery. Australia was 4/1 in three overs.
Travis Head eased off some pressure, hitting Hardik Pandya for a four and a six and then smashing a hat-trick of boundaries against Shami. He continued his assault for a while until Varun Chakravarthy was introduced to the attack.
Australia reached the 50-run mark in 7.2 overs.
The spinner, who had taken a fifer in the previous match, once again emerged as a hero, getting the crucial wicket of Head for 39 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes. Shubman Gill completed a fine catch at long-off. Australia was 54/2 in 8.2 overs.
At the end of 10 overs, Australia was 63/2, with Smith (17) and Marnus Labuschagne (1) unbeaten.
The run-rate was squeezed off for a while by Indian spinners until Labuschagne played some shots and brought Australia’s 100 runs in 19.5 overs.
Jadeja ended the 56-run stand, trapping Labuschagne leg before wicket for 29 in 36 balls, with two fours and a six. Australia is 110/3 in 22.3 overs.
Smith reached his half-centuries in 68 balls, with four boundaries, continuing his fine run in knockouts.
Jadeja once again broke a promising partnership with an easy catch by Virat Kohli at cover, removing Josh Inglis for 11. Australia was 144/4 in 27 overs.
Alex Carey was next up on the crease. With his arrival, Australia started scoring runs at a faster rate as he took down Kuldeep and Hardik for two fours and Varun for a six.
However, the aspirations for a 300-plus total took a massive dent as Shami cleaned up Smith’s stumps for 73 in 96 balls, with four boundaries and a six. Australia was 198/5 in 36.4 overs.
Glenn Maxwell arrived on the crease, smashing a six, before perishing to a fine straight delivery from Axar for seven runs in five balls. Australia was 205/6 in 37.3 overs.
Carey continued his fine run at number six, scoring his 11th ODI fifty in 49 balls, with seven fours and a six. Ben Dwarshuis also joined the party with some shots against spin.
The partnership between Carey and Ben did not last very long as the latter was removed by Varun while taking the aerial route. Shreyas Iyer took a fine catch at mid-wicket, removing Ben for 19 in 29 balls, with a four and six. Australia was 239/7 in 45.3 overs.
A fine direct hit from Shreyas spelled the end of Carey’s brilliant knock of 60 in 57 balls, with eight fours and a six. Australia was 249/8 in 47.1 overs.
India reached the 250-run mark in 47.2 overs.
A fine catch from Virat ended Nathan’s brief cameo of 10 in seven balls, giving Shami his third wicket. Australia was 262/9 in 49 overs. Hardik cleaned up Zampa, bundling out Australia for 264 in 49.3 overs. (ANI)
