Dubai: Virat Kohli’s brilliant 84, supported by K.L. Rahul’s unbeaten 42 and Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 28, led India to a four-wicket victory over Australia in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.

With this win, India became the first team to qualify for the Champions Trophy final for the third consecutive time. They will now face the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand on March 9. The victory also served as redemption for India after their loss to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

India’s Chase:

Chasing 265, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill provided a 30-run opening stand before Ben Dwarshuis dismissed Gill for 8 in the fifth over. Rohit looked in good touch, scoring 28 off 19 balls with three fours and a six, but was trapped LBW by Cooper Connolly in the eighth over.

Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then put together a crucial 91-run stand for the third wicket, stabilizing India's innings. Iyer fell for 45 in the 27th over to Adam Zampa, but Kohli continued his dominance, bringing up his 74th ODI half-century. He also became India's highest run-scorer in Champions Trophy history, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan's tally of 701 runs.

Kohli built key partnerships with Axar Patel and Rahul before finally falling to Zampa in the 43rd over, giving Australia a slim chance of a comeback. However, Hardik Pandya’s aggressive 28 off 18 balls, which included two sixes and a four, crushed any Australian hopes. Rahul sealed the win in style, smashing a six off Glenn Maxwell to take India home with 11 balls to spare.

Australia’s Innings:

Earlier, despite half-centuries from skipper Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61), India's disciplined bowling attack prevented the ODI World Champions from crossing the 300-run mark.

Australia had a shaky start when Mohammed Shami dropped Travis Head on a duck in the first over, but he soon made amends by dismissing Connolly for a nine-ball duck. Head counter-attacked with boundaries against Pandya and Shami but fell for 39 when Varun Chakaravarthy struck in the ninth over.

Smith and Marnus Labuschagne steadied the innings with a 56-run partnership, but Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Labuschagne for 29 in the 23rd over. Smith went on to complete his half-century off 68 balls and shared three crucial 50-run stands with Head, Labuschagne, and Carey before falling to Shami for 73.

Glenn Maxwell failed to fire, scoring just 7 before being bowled by Axar Patel. Carey anchored the lower order, reaching his fifty in 48 balls, but Australia lost wickets regularly. Chakaravarthy dismissed Dwarshuis in the 46th over, while a brilliant direct hit from Shreyas Iyer sent Carey back for 61. Shami and Pandya cleaned up the tail, bowling Australia out for 264 in 49.3 overs.

Brief Scores:

Australia: 264 all out in 49.3 overs (Steve Smith 73, Alex Carey 61; Mohammed Shami 3-48, Ravindra Jadeja 2-40, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-49)
India: 267/6 in 48.1 overs (Virat Kohli 84, Shreyas Iyer 45; Nathan Ellis 2-49, Adam Zampa 2-60)
Result: India won by four wickets. (With Agency Inputs)