Live Report - Kohli and Shami put India in Champions Trophy final

For the longest time, the knockout stages of an ICC event were Australia's domain. But maybe there's a need to change that now. India might not have the aura just yet but it's only a matter of time. They're about to play their fifth final in seven 50-over world tournaments having taken down the OGs with ease.

Virat Kohli definitely has the aura. He just needs the trophies to go with it. And on Sunday he will be competing for one after playing one of his smoothest innings, 84 off 98 balls, where it didn't particularly look like anything was beyond him. He played spin well. He suckered Australia into wasting a review. He nicked overthrows off direct hits. He roared for his partners' boundaries. He was vintage. Spin has slowed him down in recent times but here even that didn't stop him. He faced 70 balls of it, scored 63 runs even though only 12 were off boundaries. It meant he was always rotating strike. He wasn't absorbing dots.

Australia's depleted bowling attack without regular captain Pat Cummins, new-ball menace Mitchell Starc and the metronomic Josh Hazlewood could do little to stop the run-flow on the best batting pitch that Dubai has put out in the entire tournament. It looked really dry, which prompted Steven Smith to pack his XI with as many as six spin bowling options and then bat first, hoping that run-scoring would become difficult as the day went on. Either that didn't happen or Kohli's class just shone through. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Rohit Sharma was uncertain about what to do at the toss. He happily admitted that losing it was better for him (he's had lots of practice). India, too, believed the surface would offer more for the spinners. They went in with four and their faith in Varun Chakravarthy paid off when he dismissed Travis Head with the first ball he has ever bowled to him at any level of cricket. Australia had eight boundaries at that point. Seven came off Head's rapier-like blade. That was a huge wicket and it continued a fine cricketer's redemption arc. Chakravarthy wasn't in India's original squad for this competition. He's part of their reason they're in the final. His mystery endures. After the low of the 2021 T20 World Cup, his strength endures.

Smith has had to cede his title as the batter who has trolled Indian cricket in recent times but he could still diall up the trauma. Australia made 147 runs in the middle overs at a run rate of 5.06. This was the stage where other teams have tripped up. And that usually happened because they were unable to deal with over after over and over of the spinners choking up the run-flow. Smith just never looked like he would run out of scoring options. He laced Varun through cover for four. He nailed Ravindra Jadeja over his head for six. He initially struggled to pick Kuldeep Yadav out of the hand. In the 28th over, trapped inside that place that makes him such a compelling batter, he rehearsed the way a googly stuck in the pitch and spat up to take the shoulder of his bat while he was squared up. Four overs later, he was launching Kuldeep's googly down the ground. The ease with which he was playing spin left Rohit no choice but to go back to his quicks and out of that desperation came a miracle.

Mohammed Shami bowled a full toss. Smith - having done pretty well to spook India every time he came down the track - missed it coming down the track. The stumps took the hit. A man often called the best since Bradman doesn't make such basic mistakes. Something must have happened. It was the 37th over. Dubai has a very abrasive square. Shami is known for his reverse swing. Something must have happened.

India took total control of the game five balls later when Axar Patel slid one through Glenn Maxwell's defences. Now the tail was exposed, with more than 10 overs still left to bat. From basically bossing the game, Australia were in trouble of not lasting their full quota. Alex Carey bailed his team out with a sinful innings. Somehow he was scoring at better than a run a ball, timing everything he touched. India would give him a field - mid-on up, square leg back for the sweep - and he would would toy with it, going big down the ground. Mid-off would go back and point would come up and he would toy with it again, nailing the reverse sweep. If Carey'd had better batting support, he would've made more than 61 off 57 and Australia would've had the 280 they looked so good for.

Launches Zampa for back to back sixes down the ground

Nathan Ellis is getting reverse swing. He goes for only one run in the 46th over.

More than the fancy stuff, he's just focused on keeping the stumps in play and denying India the room to free their arms.

Plenty of pressure leading into that over too, even with the six that Sangha gave away.

Zampa strikes.

There's life yet in this game.

A little bit of flight from Sangha is enough to bring out the big shot down the ground

Seeing mid-on up for Dwarshuis in the next over helps him make up his mind

Even with long-off and long-on back for Zampa, Rahul targets him, coming down the track

India need only 41 off 46 after those three big hits.

Nathan Ellis has knocked back Axar Patle's off stump. A rather fruitful 44-run partnership ends. India have KL Rahul - a specialist batter - and Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja - two solid allrounders - for the rest of the chase (87 needed off 90 balls) Not to mention Virat Kohli, who automatically becomes so much more in a run-chase.

Axar's come out playing his shots. Lofted extra cover drive to a decent, tossed up ball. Then a bludgeon over midwicket. He isn't just there to break up the line of right-handers. He's there to potentially make this chase easier for the others down the order. India see him as the perfect pinch hitter.

Kohli's game against spin today: He's faced 45 balls, scored 44 runs and endured only 13 dots. That's back to vintage levels. He hasn't looked uncertain against the lack of pace. He's always found a way to hit the gaps: 26 singles and three twos.

Kohli's been given a life! Australia had just realised the need to go funky to pick up wickets and had installed Maxwell at very straight, very tight short cover position and Cooper Connolly brings him into play with a flighted ball that dips on the batter so that the flick shot that he thought was on results in a leading edge. The bowler shapes to go for the catch which must have put Maxwell off.

Two balls later though, Adam Zampa slides one on and Shreyas Iyer is deceived. He goes for the cut. That is what Zampa wants the batter to do with this ball hurrying off the pitch and beating the bat swing down to crash into off stump. Shane Warne would be proud. Beautiful deception. India 134 for 3 in the 27th over.

Which is harder? Chasing 350 on a flat track or 250 on a slow track?

You’d think everything has to go right in a big chase. But at least conditions are in your favour. In the middling chase, one wicket could lead to a collapse because the new batter needs time. On slow pitches, there’s a chance even after getting set, it can be difficult to hit the gaps.

The hardest I think is what Australia did earlier in the day. They were certain this was a really dry pitch and were desperate to get a par plus score batting first. As it turns out, it isn’t as bad to bat out there. Smith and co might just have misread the conditions here. Rohit too was unsure about it at the toss. He said he was in two minds and was happy to lose it.

The rare Virat Kohli square cut.

So much of his game is on the front foot. He's designed it that way to be as intimidating as he can be. Look at me, I'm running at you when you're bowling 150kph. You don't matter.

Against spin, though, it's his back foot game that sets him apart, using the depth of the crease and actually using the turn to his favour. Even at his peak though, he doesn't always square cut the ball. He relies on the flick against spin, his wrists capable of doing some magical things.

The square cut was out against Adam Zampa, who responded with a gorgeous googly, drawing Kohli forward with the flight and deceiving him with both dip and turn. Lbw shout turned down because it was turning too much.

This is a fun battle.

Andrew Fidel Fernando from the ground: Australia are bounce-throwing the living daylights out of this ball btw. Saw Shami reverse it (yay! my hunch was right!) and desperately want a piece of that action.

India will be looking at his as the Smith-Labuschagne partnership from earlier in the day, where they were able to keep the singles flowing and prevented India's spinners from exerting any control through the middle overs.

Australia will be desperate to prevent that. They've gone to their trump card Adam Zampa immediately after the field restrictions were lifted. Virat Kohli looks in nick. And the first shot he played against legspin, a firm drive through the covers, suggests he's been keeping an eye on those head-to-head stats where he's been second best in recent times.

Didn't work with the bat. Didn't work in the field. Defo works with the ball. And Australia are all around the 21-year-old that they've thrown into the deep end. Good on them. Connolly must not have felt very good up until now, but as soon as he saw Rohit go down to sweep him, as soon as the ball slipped underneath the inside edge and hit the front pad, he knew he had his man. He knew he had redemption. Huge wicket. And an example of just how mad this game can be.

That might help after those two drops.

The luck that favoured India now turns in Australia's way as the ball pings off Gill's MRF bat back onto his stumps.

Australia left Spencer Johnson who is easily one of the fastest bowlers in this tournament out but kept Ben Dwarshuis in. He's already played a part in making this game, helping Alex Carey score crucial runs at the death. Now he shows his value with his primary discipline, taking a little pace off, confounding one of the world's best touch players, making him play too early and taking him out. He's playing because of his variations and his variations have taken out Gill, the No. 1 ranked batter in ODIs.

In walks Virat Kohli. Unlikely he'll face a lot of legspin now. Or will Smith take a gamble?

Rohit looking to take advantage of the field restrictions.

Goes over the off side infield. It isn't timed.

The fielder runs back, a long way. He dives. He takes the catch. That was 2023.

In 2025, when Rohit takes the same risk, the ball going in the air in almost the same place, Marnus Labuschagne running to his left from mid-off isn't able to hold on.

Cooper Connolly, coming in to play his first game of this tournament, right in the heat of a semi-final, has dropped the India captain

Rohit had shown he wasn't going to hold back. That cut shot was his third attacking shot in eight balls faced. It went low, but virtually straight to him. What would he rue more? Facing nine balls and putting bat only to the one that led to his dismissal or this?

Rohit Sharma takes his first steps onto the field, his eyes skyward, or they would've been if he'd kept them open. More than 20 years into his career and the pressure still tells. How will he start in this chase? He went gung ho in the 2023 ODI World Cup final and his wicket was a crucial turning point back then. Will that hold him back here? Or will he put that night behind him and remember that the first 10 overs of the chase, with only two fielders out on the boundary, have to be taken advantage of.

Shubman Gill is out there with the MRF bat by the way (just in time for the IPL). He was holding one pre-match and I thought he'd just borrowed Kohli's. But clearly not.

Steven Smith (73 off 96) and Alex Carey (61 off 57) have set Australia up nicely. India will consider the total within their reach though.

Mohammed Shami, who hadn't played any cricket for a long time, has played a big part in that. He ends with three-for on a pitch everybody thought would have nothing for the quicks. But quality shines through. He got seam with the new ball. His changes of pace and yorkers were pretty much spot on in the death. I kinda think he was getting reverse swing too. Smith doesn't usually get bowled off full tosses. Special mention to Varun Chakravarthy as well, who took down Travis Head early just as he was looking really really dangerous.

All that said, Australia have enough on the board to threaten. Nathan Ellis has been spectacular on far more batting friendly pitches in this Champions Trophy. He'll relish this one which might help his variations. Then there's Adam Zampa. Legspin has taken Virat Kohli down five times in the last six matches and he's averaging only 9 against them.

Direct hit from Shreyas Iyer with two and a half stumps to aim at from about 45 yards out after running in from the deep backward square leg boundary. We know who's getting the fielding medal tonight. Iyer also took the catch for India's last wicket, Ben Dwarshuis, looking into the sun.

Australia had protected themselves from the collapse so well. They bossed the middle overs (147 runs at 5.06 an over). But that double-strike with Smith and Maxwell has taken so much out of their total. It's still a good one. They should be able to make a match out of this with the ball likely to spin more later in the day.

He came out with serious intent. Never presented a stationary target for the bowler. Sometimes India were so worried by the shots that he might play - the sweeps and reverse sweeps - that they offered him more orthodox hitting areas - down the ground - and he was perfectly happy to take them.

Now batting with the tail, he has to be a lot more selective. When he was batting with Smith, there were only 31 dot balls in 9.4 overs (53%). The run rate was 5.58.

Since Smith and Maxwell fell in the space of six balls and Australia now have to worry about lasting the full 50 overs, there's been 23 dot balls in 6.2 overs (60%). The run rate is 5.07.

He's missed a full toss.

India went to their fast bowlers because spin wasn't causing problems to the two set batters. They were desperate. Now they might try Varun or Kuldeep or whomever.

Though the man coming in is a pretty good spin-hitter. If its his day, he could be unstoppable.

Here's Glenn Maxwell. Oops, he's gone. Australia's tail is exposed. India right back in the game.

A 280 total is now looking closer to 250 now thanks to a Shami full toss and an Axar Patel skidder.

The world lost so much on this day in 2022.

Whether the sweep shot is a pest for spinners or not, it certainly is one for captains.

Alex Carey played four in his first 18 balls. The last of those to India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and it went all the way. So in the next over, Rohit had mid-on up and square leg back and that meant as soon as Carey picked that Kuldeep had tossed the ball up a bit, he could wind up and launch it. He just had to beat the infield. Minimal risk for a boundary.

Smith is picking Kuldeep out of the hand. In the 28th over, he wasn't. He reacted to a googly only off the pitch.

In the 32nd over, he stays leg of the wrong 'un pitching on middle presents a straight bat to hit him with the spin and over the top. The very next ball, he closes the face of the bat because it is the legbreak and he finds a riskless single through midwicket.

India must be wishing this ball rolling back on the stumps had broken them

Australia are going at over 5 an over. India have simply not allowed that to happen in this Champions Trophy. They're being run ragged by Steven Smith.

It is so much better watching a great batter on a not flat pitch. The options they take. The decisions they make. The shots they look for. The shots they avoid. The levels of concentration that little bit higher. The footwork that little bit sharper. Smith went through a period where he faced 10 straight dots. That didn't bother him. He's come out of that with a six and a four in his last seven balls.

But at the other end, Josh Inglis is gone. Jadeja gets one to sit in the pitch a little more than the batter expects and the back foot drive just pops up as a catch to short cover.

He's had an eventful afternoon. He basically hugged Labuschagne at the bowler's end which stopped any chance of sneaking a single. Later, he was asked to pull off the tape on his left arm. Now he's got rid of Labuschagne lbw.

With Axar Patel batting up the order, and bowling in the powerplay, with Kuldeep Yadav turning himself into a designated death bowler and Varun Chakravarthy the flavour of the month (though he's talented enough to remain the flavour for longer, as evidenced by his return to the bowling crease to challenge the new batter Josh Inglis, good captaincy) Ravindra Jadeja was slipping into the periphery. In the game against NZ, when he picked up his first wicket, he looked up and held his hand to his heart and it looked like he was relieved. He's only got three wickets in the entire tournament.

Australia are very conscious of scoring against pace. Travis Head targeted Hardik Pandya in the powerplay and now when Mohammed Shami comes back for another spell, Steven Smith goes after him, to the extent that he's putting his wicket at risk. An on the up drive almost becomes a catch, but the bowler drops it in his followthrough. It came back really quickly at him. You'd think that close shave - his second of the innings - would temper his approach but no. Very next ball, Smith shifts across his stumps and tries to scoop Shami. All this, btw, is after Smith had charged Shami too.

Andrew McGlashan: Australia’s selection for this game has prompted significant debate, particularly after Cooper Connolly’s troubled innings. It did feel like a big call asking him to open – he had previously done it briefly in the BBL where he struggled (average 7.75 from four innings) and once in a List A game. But the theory will likely have been to prevent other players having shift their positions as they filled Matt Short’s spot while also giving themselves Connolly’s overs of spin.

And that brings us to Tanveer Sangha. He’s a very talented legspinner and certainly part of Australia’s future. He would probably have played more by now if not for some injuries. But it goes against the grain for Australia to only have two frontline quicks. They were clearly swayed by the dryness of the pitch, but it's hard to think it would have happened if Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood (or a combination of them) had been available. Have Australia gone too far to accommodate more spin options? Time will tell.

Australia are doing it well here. They aren't getting stuck against spin. The singles are still on. The freshness of today's pitch might have something to do with that. A used one in India's last game meant their spinners denied New Zealand even that little bit of respite.

Also, Steven Smith is out there and he is exceptional at manipulating the ball. Of all his talents, his problem solving is what sets him apart and here he's decided that he needs to come down the track to make his own length. He's done that thrice in three overs - the 17th, 18th and 19th.

Marnus Labuschagne is getting into a groove as well, brings up the team's hundred in just the 21st over with a sweep shot for four. India need to figure out a way to get past these two accumulators. Otherwise, they'll have set up the game for the big-hitters down the order. Average score in this tournament in Dubai is only 235. Australia are tracking for something much higher.

He inside edges a drive that dribbles off his pads and hits the off stump flush enough for the ball to rebound off it and yet the bails do not fall.

Smith just watched it all happen. He had the opportunity to stop the ball's progress but maybe he was worried if he tried he might break the stumps himself. That was the last ball of a maiden over (14th) from Axar Patel.

Already signs of what it might be like against spin - only 22 runs off five overs in tandem, and of course the wicket.

Kuldeep in the eighth over

Varun in the ninth, Head falls

Axar immediately brought on with two right-handers in

Varun in the 11th

Axar in the 12th. Plenty of cover on the boundary

Its only going to get tougher to play spin here

He was brought in as the wildcard. And he's broken the game.

Head was able to see off Bumrah in the 2023 final. He falls to Varun, first ball he's ever faced off him too at any level of cricket. Huge wicket, and a huge payoff on the punt India have made on this mystery spinner, their oldest ODI debutant.

Varun, soon after picking up a five-for in his last game, said he had one that spun to the right, one that spun to the left, and one that went straight on. He takes Head out with one that spun juuuust enough to the left to mess with the left-hander's free swing of the bat.

He's good on the cut. He's good on the pull. He's got these other uncanny shots as well, the pick-up in particular, which he's already used to hit Hardik Pandya for a six over square leg and a four through midwicket and neither of those deliveries were particularly bad ones. They were just a sign that Head had got used to the lack of pace on the pitch and he'd picked out Hardik as a person to target inside the powerplay when only two fielders could be outside the circle.

Head isn't just slam bam. He's tactical too. Australia are 53 for 0 in 7.2 overs with seven of their eight boundaries coming off the bat of their talisman.

Three boundaries from Travis Head has forced Shami to shift plans.

Shami ends that over bowling over the wicket, from where he is slightly less effective. This is what Head can do with how hard he hits the ball. He changes the game.

Head was 1 off 11. Now he's 26 off 19.

India normally use Axar Patel as their first spinner in the powerplay. But with Head out there, they are going to Kuldeep Yadav for the sixth over. It's nice to see India aren't dawdling on their plans. Rohit's pulled the trigger early and went to one of his two X-factor bowlers.

But the fact remains one player is making an ICC semi-final play to his beat.

An over full of plays and misses ends with Cooper Connolly's wicket

India have been very careful managing Mohammed Shami's return from injury. They tested him out at home in a largely non-consequential bilateral series against England. His pace was down there, which suggests he was building up to his peak.

He's looked loads better at the Champions Trophy. The legs are pumping again. He's hitting the late 130kph which he always used to do. And most importantly, he's getting the new ball to talk. All through that third over, he had Connolly waiting for the one coming in with the angle from around the wicket and then nipping away off the pitch. Eventually, he bowled one just right to take the edge.

A sign of how unhealthy the conditions are for strokeplay. Travis Head has played two attacking shots already - a slap through extra cover and a pull off the hips - but neither were timed and that's rare.

Another mis-hit might prove to colour the rest of this game. Head popped a leading edge back to Shami in the very first over and the bowler dropped it moving to his right.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting marvels at the sound off Head's bat. One of the best readers of the game highlighted how Head might look awkward at times but he still hits the ball so hard. That's why the margins of error are so small. As soon as you stray, he punishes you to the fullest.

PS - what is it with bowling teams going up against Australia and starting with a wide?

This was Shami

And this was Hardik

Rohit's luck with the toss continues. It looks like India will have to do it the hard way to make the final

Pretty dry surface, pretty dry square, Steven Smith notes. What he's not saying is batting will get progressively harder. He also expects it to turn. Two changes: Connolly comes in for Short and listed to open. Sangha comes in for Johnson. Six spin options for Australia (with Connolly and Sangha coming in and Labuschagne's all-sorts)

Rohit was in two minds about the toss and so he says it's better to lose the toss. He also adds that in each of the three games India have played, the pitch threw up different challenges. That might be why he's been insistent that playing all their games in Dubai hasn't been an advantage. Same team, Varun keeps his place, four spinners

Australia: 1 Travis Head, 2 Cooper Connolly, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Alex Carey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Tanveer Sangha, 11 Adam Zampa

India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

Temp's at 29C. The pitch is not exactly central. 62m one side square, 69m the other side. Managing that with the spinners bowling will be crucial. You want to defend the short boundary. Average first-innings total in Dubai in the Champions Trophy is 235.

Rishabh Pant seems to have nicked someone's camera. Steven Smith is obsessively stretching (and already in his uniform). Cooper Connolly is about to make his debut with the tournament in the pointiest of ends. Will he open the batting too with Matt Short injured? Or will it be Josh Inglis, with whom Travis Head was hanging out pitch-side already hatching the next great Indian heartbreak.

We are hearing that a fresh pitch will be used for this semi-final. Spin will still play a big part and India possess three that are so good at doing the basics right. Axar Patel, for example, was impeccable at holding an unhittable length against New Zealand. He has no mystery yet some of the best batters in the game - Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham - were made to play at his discretion.

Australia will want to prevent Axar and Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav from doing things like that. And they do possess batters more than capable of pulling it off. There's he who has been memed.

Then there's he who hates his own nickname

Then there's he who is the best since Bradman