Mighty India tightened screw on Australia in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal clash at the Dubai International stadium on March 4, Tuesday. It was the same side which denied India two ICC trophies, ODI World Cup 2023 title and World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 title. India have a perfect chance to avenge previous defeats handed by Australia as the wounds still pesters Indian fans.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma fume at Kuldee Yadav
India put to bowl first got off to a decent start after a brief scare by Travis Head, the batter who played instrumental roles in Australia title triumphs in both ODI World Cup 2023 and WTC 2023.
But a moment came during the match which left both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma seething in anger. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lost their cool at Kuldeep Yadav for fielding misjudgment during the crucial juncture of the match.
It all unfolded during the 32nd over when Steve Smith flicked the ball towards Virat Kohli who was stationed at midwicket. Virat Kohli threw the ball towards the non-striker's end, intended for Kuldeep Yadav, resulted in an unexpected fielding error. Instead of collecting the throw, Kuldeep allowed the ball to slip through his hands, visibly upsetting Kohli. While Rohit Sharma was positioned for backup, preventing any extra runs from an overthrow, the incident still sparked a strong reaction.
Both Kohli and Rohit Sharma expressed their displeasure, with Rohit Sharma also giving Kuldeep a verbal dressing down. The spinner found himself on the receiving end of a double reprimand from two of India's most senior players.
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However, Smith returned to the pavilion after scoring 73 runs off 96 balls in the 37th over. After Smith it was Alex Carey's 57-ball 61 which steered Australia to 264-run total. Mohammed Shami remained the pick of the bowlers for India with three scalps while spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja too contributed with two wickets each.
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Australia's Playing 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
