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Team India's veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba has made a bold prediction about the first semifinal of ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The BJP MLA has wished Rohit Sharma-led India luck and hopes that they don't just beat Steve Smith's Australia but by a good margin as well.
“Definitely we are going to win this match because right after India vs Pakistan, another interesting rivalry in cricket is India-Australia. We have witnessed from a couple of years that India-Australia matches are quite thrilling," Rivaba told the reporters on March 4.
“Not just me, but all cricket lovers in India are confident that we will definitely cross the semifinal hurdle. We will win this match. Good luck to Team India and cricket lovers. Hope we win thus match by a good margin," she added.
India have had an upper hand over Australia as far as Champions Trophy encounters are concerned. Out of four, India have won two, lost one whereas one ended in no result. However, the last time India met Australia in an ODI was in World Cup 2023 final. Travis Head's century helped Australia beat India comprehensively by six wickets.
However, one advantage India have is that Australia are missing their pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The pacers exploited the double-paced pitch of Ahmedabad and controlled the game in the middle overs, not letting India post a big total on the board.
Rohit looking forward to play against 'great opposition'
But Rohit is not looking to take Australia lightly. Australia pulled off a record-breaking run chase against England in their campaign opener at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
“It’s a great opposition to play against. We’ve been thinking about the last three games. And we have to approach that game in a similar fashion. We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that. But I think the more and more we focus on what we need to do as a group, as a player, as a batting unit, as a bowling unit, that helps us a lot," Rohit said in the pre-match conference.
