India won by 4 Wicket beat Aussies in 1st Semi – Finale
India Beat Australia by 4 Wicket and Enter to Finale
Pandya Hardik. Or should we say Hardik ‘clutch’ Pandya has taken India on the brink of a famous win by his barrage of sixes. He was dismissed for a 28 off 24 balls but not before he had done the job. Virat Kohli fells completely against the run of play. He Picked up the wrong one from Adam Zampa, but failed to clear the man at long-on. The Australians played cocka-hoop. Indians not so much. Kohli walks away with a look on his face that every Indian fan can relate to at the moment. KL Rahul is disappointed, and he makes it a point to convey it to Kohli.
Rahul took up the aggressor’s role, beginning to score at a strike-rate of near about 100, allowing Kohli to take his time and play accordingly at the other end. Kohli was well-set, and in the company of Rahul took India past the 200-run mark. India still have five wickets left in their kitty as we enter the final 10 overs of the match. For the first time in their chase, India’s run-rate has escalated a bit, rising to 6 but nothing alarming given the batting they still have.
Rahul joined Kohli after Axar Patel missed a pull shot and heard the dreaded sound of timber to end what turned out to be a promising partnership of 44 runs. Shreyas Iyer, who was looking so good, and put on a partnership of 91 runs with Kohli, was undone by a ripper from Adam Zampa. He was clean bowled by the Aussie leg-spinner after Australia’s Glenn Maxwell put Virat Kohli down. Kohli rose to the occasion to score a magnificent half-century.
Iyer and Kohli are motoring along nicely, keeping the required run-rate in check and getting the occasional boundary in between. Australia, and Cooper Connolly in particular, has made up for dropping Rohit Sharma, by dismissing the India captain for 28. Two wickets in two overs and Australia have doused India’s fantastic start. Rohit missed a full ball and was given out LBW, the review not saving him. This happened shortly after Shubman Gill was cleaned up by Ben Dwarshuis.
Australia were bowled out for 264. At one stage, the reigning World Champions looked set for at least 280, if not more. But a brilliant comeback, led by Mohammed Shami’s 3/48 and some able support by Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja, ensured India had less than 270 to chase to book themselves a place in the Champions Trophy final.
Australia were rocked early when Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat, and Shami bowled Copper Connolly out for a painful duck. Travis Head, India’s nemesis, struggled the initial few overs but switched gears effectively shortly after to send fears into the hearts and minds of the Indian fans. Head raced to 39 before Chakaravarthy foxed him with a wrong one to give India a much-needed breakthrough.
Smith and Marnus Labuschagne then dug in, forging a watchful 56-run partnership. However, just when their alliance began to look threatening, Ravindra Jadeja struck Marnus on the pads, getting him out of LBW. The new man in, Josh Inglis, hung around for a while before lobbing a simple catch to Virat Kohli. Smith, Australia’s captain, scored a determined fifty runs but fell 27 short of a hundred when he missed a full toss and was bowled by Shami. One brought two as Glenn Maxwell scored a six in the subsequent over, but Axar bowled him cleanly the following ball. Carey kept Australia ticking with a cracking fifty of his own, but Shreyas Iyer produced a brilliant piece of fielding, nailing a direct hit from the deep to run him out.
India’s Playing XI vs Australia:
Openers: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill
Top and middle order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper)
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Australia’s Playing XI vs India:
Openers: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head,
Top and middle order: Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey,
All-Rounder: Glenn Maxwell
Bowlers: Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
India vs Australia: Head-to-Head in ODIs
Matches Played: 151
Australia Won: 84
India won: 57
Tie/NR: 10
Here are a few pointers related to the India vs Australia Champions Trophy semifinal:
– India have lost Virat Kohli for 84 with less than 50 runs needed
– KL Rahul unleashed a flurry of boundaries
– Axar Patel was dismissed after getting a start
– The partnership between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer produced 91 runs in 111 balls
– Shreyas Iyer fell on 45 in 62 balls
– Virat Kohli scored his 74th ODI half-century in 53 balls
– Rohit Sharma was out LBW for 28
– Shubman Gill chopped on to his own stumps off Ben Dwarshuis
– Australia 264 all out in 49.3 overs
– Axar Patel knocked over Glenn Maxwell for 7
– Mohammed Shami cleaned up Steve Smith for 73
– Smith and Marnus Labuschagne added 56 runs for the third wicket before the partnership was broken by Jadeja.
– Travis Head was looking ominous but fell to Varun Chakravarthy the very first ball he faced against the spinner on 39 off 33 balls
– Travis Head was on 0 when Mohammed Shami dropped him off his own bowling
– Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat