In-form India will be up against reigning world champions Australia in the first semifinal of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The match is scheduled to be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday (March 4).
India booked their place in the semifinal by winning all of their three group games. They began their campaign with a win over Bangladesh before beating Pakistan and New Zealand. India have played all of their games in Dubai and will be looking to capitalise on it.
Australia, on the other hand, played their group games in Pakistan before arriving in Dubai for the semifinal. Australia began their campaign by chasing down 352 runs against England.
Their next two group games against South Africa and Afghanistan were washed out. However, the world champions managed to garner enough points to book a place in the semifinal.
For the second year in a row, India have the opportunity to knock Australia out of an ICC event. Last year, they thrashed them by 24 runs in the Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup and ended their chances of qualifying for the semifinal.
With form on their side, India will be eyeing another win over Australia. On the other hand, Australia will be taking confidence from their win over India in the 2023 World Cup final which is also the last ODI played between the two teams.
India vs Australia – Match preview and prediction, ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
Match Overview
Match: India vs Australia, Semifinal 1
Date & Time: 4 March 2025, 2:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Tournament: ICC Champions Trophy
India vs Australia – Pitch & Weather Report:
The weather report is very promising for the upcoming India vs Australia game. The weather forecast has predicted a sunny and clear day in Dubai on the match day. So, rain is unlikely to play spoilsport when the first semifinal of the ongoing tournament takes place.
The temperature is set to be around 30 degree Celsius in the first half of the game. After the sun goes down, the temperature is likely to hover in the mid 20s.
Talking about the pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, it is expected to be a slow pitch and will aid the bowlers more. While spinners are likely to make a bigger impact in the game, pacers could also trouble the batsmen by varying their pace.
India vs Australia – Head-to-Head Record
India and Australia have played a total of 151 ODIs against each other so far. Out of those 151 games, Australia have won 84 games while India have emerged victorious in 57 games. 10 ODIs between the two teams ended in no result.
India vs Australia – Probable Playing XIs:
India Playing 11:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Australia Playing 11:
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Key Players to Watch:
India:
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- Axar Patel
- Varun Chakravarthy
Australia:
- Travis Head
- Steve Smith
- Josh Inglis
- Glenn Maxwell
- Ben Dwarshuis
India vs Australia Best Batsman Prediction
Who will score the most runs for India in the match: Rohit Sharma or Shreyas Iyer
Who will score the most runs for Australia in the match: Travis Head or Josh Inglis
India vs Australia Best Bowler Prediction
Who will pick the most wickets for India in the match: Varun Chakravarthy or Axar Patel
Who will pick the most wickets for Australia in the match: Ben Dwarshuis or Adam Zampa
Conclusion- Match Prediction:
India will start the game as favourites and are expected to beat Australia in the semifinal.