Dubai [UAE], March 4: India and Australia, two of cricket’s biggest powers, will square off in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025’s first semi-final at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday. The goal of the match is for both sides to guarantee their spots in the championship match on Sunday.

Once again, the ICC tournament’s knockout round creates an atmosphere of intense drama, spectacular pyrotechnics, and exhilarating cricket. This is also true in India’s match against Australia, as both sides bring history, rivalry, and recent performance to the table.

The Indians will undoubtedly be thinking about 2023, and maybe even the current Border-Gavaskar series that was played in Australia.

Even without the participation of numerous important players, Australia’s ability to rise to the occasion in the biggest games is undeniable.

Current form:

India: After defeating New Zealand to complete a flawless group stage and win all three in Dubai, it’s difficult to criticize India’s performance. They will also benefit from having those games and time to get used to the conditions in Dubai, while India may be able to unleash up to four spinners who are capable of making risky advances.

Australia: Rain has impacted and even completely cancelled two of the Australians’ three Champions Trophy matches. However, until the weather stopped play, they were poised to easily defeat Afghanistan in their most recent start. After a titanic run chase, they defeated England to open the competition with a commanding victory.

Players under consideration:

Kuldeep Yadav of India

Kuldeep is a key player to stand out given India’s well-known spin bowling bullpen. After the ball stops swinging, he will have all the confidence he needs to strike his places in the middle overs since he has taken multiple wickets in two of India’s three group stage matches. India’s batting lineup easily chased down their opponents after Kuldeep’s 3/40 against Pakistan helped limit them to 241 all out.

Adam Zampa, Australia

It should come as no surprise that Australia’s spin bowlers will have to perform better in Dubai. Whether the Australians continue to three fast bowls or use another slow bowling option will be interesting to see. In any case, Australia will have to make the most of Zampa’s ten overs. The 32-year-old leg spinner has acknowledged that he hasn’t been at his best at the Champions Trophy. Thus, this is his moment to shine.

Teams:

India: Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Rohit Sharma (c).

Jason Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, and Steve Smith (c) represent Australia.