NEW DELHI: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Skipper Steve Smith backed his team to make the most of what is expected to be a spin-friendly surface, making two changes to the playing XI.
"We'll have a bat. Looks like a pretty dry surface. The guys had a couple of sessions, ready to go. It should take turn. Very good side - India. Two changes. Cooper Connolly comes in for Matt Short, Tanveer Sangha comes in for Spencer Johnson," Smith said at the toss.
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India, on the other hand, stuck with the same XI that played against New Zealand, opting for four frontline spinners. Skipper Rohit Sharma remained unfazed as India lost the toss for the 14 consecutive times in ODIs.
"I was prepared to do both. When you're confused, it's better to lose the toss. The pitch keeps changing its nature. You have to play good cricket. We've played good cricket in all three games and that's what we'll try to do. It's going to be challenging. We are playing with the same team. We want to continue from where we left. Now that we are bowling first, we have to bowl well and restrict them to as low as possible," Rohit said.
The pitch report by Michael Atherton and Ramiz Raja confirmed expectations of turn and assistance for spinners. "It's not too hot, a gentle breeze blowing across the ground. 77m down the ground, square boundaries - 69m and 62m. The pitch looks very bare, very dry and very cracked. Still batable, win the toss and bat first. The ball will grip. Looks good for the spinners."
With Australia looking to capitalise on batting first and India banking on their spinners, a gripping contest is on the cards.
India vs Australia Playing XIs
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun ChakravarthyAustralia XI: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
