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Australia pick FOUR SPINNERS As They Opt To Bat; India Unchanged As Varun Picked
Follow UsAustralia are playing Cooper Connolly and Tanveer Sangha in place of Matt Short and Spencer Johnson
In an almost unprecedented move, Australia have picked as many as four spinners as they have opted to bat first in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final against India in Dubai on March 4 (Tuesday).
Steve Smith called it right and India ended up losing yet another toss - their 14th in a row in ODIs, Rohit Sharma’s 11th consecutive toss lost in the format.
Australia have brought in spin-bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly for the injured Matthew Short, while they’ve picked leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha for Spencer Johnson. That makes it four spinners capable of bowling 10 overs for the Aussies, with Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell being the other two. Needless to say, both Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne can also chip-in with more overs of spin. It remains to be seen who will open alongside Travis Head for the Aussies but young Connolly looks to be the favourite.
India, meanwhile, have also gone in with four specialist spinners as Varun Chakaravarthy retained his spot in the Indian playing 11. Chakaravarthy picked a five-fer in the clash against New Zealand and he’s been rewarded for his superb form. It means that Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya are the only seam-bowling options at India’s disposal.
Playing XIs for Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final
India’s playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Australia’s playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final
Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
What did the captains say?
Steve Smith - We'll have a bat. It 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 Short, Sangha comes in for Johnson.
Rohit Sharma - 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.
Dubai pitch report for Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final
“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 battable, win the toss and bat first. The ball will grip. Looks good for the spinners,” say Michael Atherton and Ramiz Raja.
