IND vs AUS, Champions Trophy 2025: 5 Key takeaway's from India's semifinal win

Team India sealed their spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 Final with a six-wicket win over Australia in the semifinal clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, March 4. 

With a target of 265, India chased it down in 48.1 overs. Virat Kohli led the batting with a gritty innings of 84 off 98 balls to take Team India past the 200-run mark. Apart from Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul significantly contributed to India’s run-chase with the innings of 45, 27, 28, and 41, respectively.

Apart from India’s semifinal win against Australia, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the match.

Five key takeaways from Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal clash between India and Australia:

1. Varun Chakravarthy got rid of India's threat 

Varun Chakravarthy will be remembered for a long time for his small impact in the semifinal against Australia. The mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu gave a big breakthrough to Team India as he dismissed the team’s threat Travis Head. Head took a little time to get settled in before he began to switch his gears and take on Indian bowlers. Rohit Sharma decided to bring in Chakravarthy into attack in the eighth over of Australia’s batting and got rid of Travis Head, who was looking to go for a big shot off spinner’s length bowling, but he miscued it as the ball went towards long-off and Shubman Gill ran to take a nice catch. This was a big wicket for India among all, given the threat posed by Travis Head in ICC tournaments, especially the ODI World Cup 2023 final.

2. Steve Smith resilient fifty 

After Travis Head’s dismissal at 54/2, Steve Smith anchored Australia’s innings while escaping two early dismissals, one that the ball did not dislodge the ball on 23 and another Mohammed Shami dropped his catch on 36. The pressure was on Smith as he led the team’s batting and formed a crucial 56-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne. Smith continued to carry on Australia’s batting despite losing Labuschagne at the other end and registered his 35th ODI fifty in just 48 balls. The Australian skipper stitched a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket with Alex Carey before he was dismissed for 73 off 96 balls. Smith’s innings and Alex Carey’s crucial 60 helped Australia post a total of 264 in 49.4 overs.

3. Mohammed Shami's scorching  spell 

Mohammed Shami put up an impactful performance with the ball to help India bundle out Australia for 264. Shami received flak on social media for dropping two crucial catches of Travis Head and Steve Smith. Yet, the veteran pacer delivered under pressure. Mohammed Shami picked up wickets of Cooper Connolley, Steve Smith, and Nathan Ellis to register the figures of 3/48 at an economy rate of 4.80 in his 10 overs spell. He troubled the Australia middle-order batters with his good length and line delivery, which was effective in restricting the flow of runs and putting pressure on opposition. With his three-wicket haul, Shami became the joint-leading wicket-taker of the tournament alongside New Zealand’s Matt Henry, with eight wickets.

4. Virat Kohli stepped for India in crucial situations

Whenever it comes to crucial situations in high pressure games, Virat Kohli has always been a player to stand tall for Team India when he was needed the most. In the semifinal clash against Australia, Kohli stepped up for the Men in Blue and played a crucial knock of 84 off 98 balls while anchoring India’s run-chase. His 91-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (45), 44-run stand with Axar Patel (27), and 47-run partnership with KL Rahul (42*) proved crucial to help India chase down a 265-run target. During his 84-run knock, Kohli shattered several records including most runs by Indian batter in Champions Trophy (746*) and the most 50+ plus scores in ICC ODI tournaments. Virat Kohli yet again proved why he is one of the greatest batters in crucial games, especially knockout stages.

5. KL Rahul's impact

After 23-run innings in the final group stage clash against New Zealand, many questions were raised about KL Rahul’s place in the team. The 31-year-old got an opportunity to silence his critics in the semifinal against Australia. Walking in to bat when India were 178/4 after Axar Patel’s dismissal, KL Rahul stitched a crucial 47-run partnership with Virat Kohli to take the team past 200-run mark. He stepped up for the side with his impactful performances at crucial junctures alongside Hardik Pandya. When India required just four balls off the last two overs to win the semifinal, Rahul smashed a winning six off Glenn Maxwell’s delivery towards wide long-on and successfully took the team past the finishing line. Rahul played an impactful innings of 42 off 34 balls, including two fours as many as sixes.