Australia has been knocked out of the Champions Trophy after India sealed a tense four-wicket win during Tuesday’s semi-final in Dubai.
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Chasing a 265-run target for victory, India got the job done in the penultimate over courtesy of Virat Kohli’s 98-ball 84 and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 42.
Earlier, Australia was bowled out for 264 in 49.3 overs, with captain Steve Smith and Alex Carey cracking fifties in a losing cause.
India will face either New Zealand or South Africa in Sunday’s final at the same venue.
Aus openers go from scare to disaster! | 00:40
‘MISERY’: CONNOLLY’S REDEMPTION AS GAMBLE BACKFIRES
Less than 48 hours before Tuesday’s semi-final in Dubai, Cooper Connolly wasn’t even in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad.
The West Australian, the team’s travelling reserve, was parachuted into the 15-player squad on Monday morning as an injury replacement for Matt Short, who damaged his quad during last week’s washout against Afghanistan in Lahore.
And on Tuesday, he was named in Australia’s starting XI for the must-win clash against India, opening the batting alongside Travis Head.
Connolly, playing just his 10th List A match, had never opened the batting or struck a half-century in the 50-over format, averaging 16.71 across eight knocks. He had previously batted just twice in ODIs, posting scores of 7* and 3 in the middle order.
However, national selectors gambled on the talented left-hander as an opener for the ICC knockout — a decision that backfired after captain Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first.
Connolly was dismissed by Indian seamer Mohammed Shami for a ninth-ball duck following an amateurish passage of play, where he played and missed six consecutive deliveries before edging the seventh. The Australian’s lack of footwork was a glaring concern, suggesting he wasn’t equipped to handle the swinging ball.
“His misery ends there,” former Indian coach Ravi Shastri said in commentary following Connolly’s dismissal.
“He was really struggling.”
To make matters worse, Connolly dropped a low chance at point during the second over of India’s run chase to hand rival skipper Rohit Sharma an early reprieve on 13.
However, Connolly redeemed himself when Smith threw him the ball in the eighth over, which proved a masterstroke as the spinner removed Sharma LBW for 28, his first wicket at international level.
The 21-year-old was mobbed by his teammates when three red lights appeared on ball-tracking, grinning with delight — and perhaps relief.
“He’ll be feeling a whole lot better about himself, about life, about his ability to contribute,” former England captain Michael Atherton said in commentary.
“It was a real struggle for him at the top of the order … but what a lift has just been given by getting Rohit out.”
Connolly was considered the closest like-for-like replacement for Short, but wicketkeepers Josh Inglis and Alex Carey have plenty of experience opening the batting in 50-over cricket, both at international and domestic level, while pinch-hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk was another worthwhile candidate.
However, Inglis and Carey are superb players of spin, with their expertise needed in the middle overs on the slow deck, while Fraser-McGurk’s recent form has been nothing short of woeful. Although the reasoning behind Connolly’s selection was sound, the decision to throw him in the deep end as an opener for a Champions Trophy semi-final didn’t pay off.
“That’s what happens when you come into this level,” former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said during the innings break.
“He’s done well in domestic level, but when you come to the international level, suddenly you’ll find (the standard) is much higher, and the bowling is more accurate, more lethal.”
‘CRAZY’: KOHLI PROVES HE’S STILL THE KING
Virat Kohli timed the run chase to perfection.
India was in a bit of strife at 2-43 before Kohli took control of the contest, calmly steering his team towards the target in a trademark performance. The right-hander didn’t deal in boundaries, rather picking the gaps and rotating the strike to wear down Australia’s bowlers.
He made it look easy.
Kohli only offered one chance during an otherwise flawless performance, scooping a drive towards Glenn Maxwell at short cover in the 26th over — but the Victorian couldn’t hold on.
“For me, it’s about just understanding the conditions, preparing my game accordingly, just rotating strike, because partnerships on this pitch are the most important thing,” Kohli said during the post-match presentation.
“I wasn’t feeling desperate. I was pretty happy knocking ones around. When as a batsman you start taking pride in hitting those singles into the gaps, that’s when you know you’re playing good cricket. You know you’re in for a big partnership and settle the nerves down a little bit and head towards chasing the total down.
“This game is all about pressure, especially big games like semis and finals. If you go deep into the innings and you have enough wickets in hand, the opposition usually gives in and then the game becomes easier. It’s very important to control your impulses while the game is going on.”
Kohli’s expertise in run chases is unmatched. He has accumulated 8063 runs in the second innings of ODIs at an average of 64.50. Although his Test performances have dipped over the past few years, Kohli’s white-ball brilliance can’t be denied.
“That’s crazy, isn’t it,” former Australian captain Aaron Finch said of Kohli’s ODI record.
“He is the chase master.
“Just his ability to calculate a run chase, to work out when to take the risk if he needs to take a risk.
“Once he gets in, he’s so hard to get out.”
Highest batting average in men’s ODI run chases
64.50— Virat Kohli (IND)
56.81 — AB de Villers (RSA)
56.50 — Michael Bevan (AUS)
53.92 — Michael Clarke (AUS)
52.80 — Shane Watson (AUS)
* Minimum 30 innings
LEGEND’S PREDICTION COME TRUE AS HEAD-ACHE AVOIDED
Travis Head has been India’s nemesis over the past 24 months.
The 2023 World Test Championship final, the 2023 World Cup final, the 2024 Adelaide Test — the South Australian has time and time again thwarted India in marquee matches by producing explosive bursts with the bat.
So for Tuesday’s semi-final in Dubai, Head was understandably the key scalp for the Asian powerhouse.
Speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel ahead of the match, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin outlined a strategy for taming the dashing left-hander — bringing spinner Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack early.
“New ball and give it to Varun,” Ashwin explained.
“Travis Head shows all his three stumps and then clears his leg and hit it over the field. Varun Chakaravarthy with new ball might give India an edge. It will be a mouth-watering contest.
“I would be very surprised if Travis Head will take a back seat against Varun. He would love to go aggressive.”
A few hours later, Ashwin’s prediction came to fruition.
After a sluggish start with the bat, Head picked up the tempo and raced towards 39 before Chakaravarthy, playing just his third ODI, was thrown the ball in the ninth over. Despite having never faced him at international level before, Head decided he didn’t need a sighter against the Indian tweaker, attempting to slog him down the ground.
However, the Australian opener didn’t pick Chakaravarthy’s googly, with the bat spinning in his hand as the ball sailed towards long-off, where Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill swallowed onto a regulation chance.
It marked the first time Head had fallen to spin during the Powerplay of an ODI.
“He gave himself no chance,” former Australian opener Matthew Hayden said in commentary.
“Just a little time to work into his magic here would have been something, I’m sure now sitting in the changeroom, he may well consider.”
SMITH STEPS UP IN ICC KNOCKOUT YET AGAIN
Great cricketers step up in ICC knockouts — and there aren’t many greater than Steve Smith.
The captain anchored Australia’s innings in Dubai, rescuing the reigning world champions with a patient 73 (96) that featured five boundaries.
It wasn’t his most elegant innings in the international arena, soaking up plenty of dot balls during the middle overs as India’s probing spinners bashed away at a good length, but Australia wouldn’t have come close to posting a defendable total if not for Smith’s heroics.
“Great players have a sense of the moment, don’t they?” former Australian opener Aaron Finch said in commentary.
“The more pressure everyone else feels, (the more) they go about their business. Steve Smith has been one of the greats.”
Former England captain Michael Atherton continued: “Big occasions tend to bring the best out of big players.”
Smith has a history of producing his best work in ICC knockouts — he scored a century during the 2015 World Cup semi-final against India in Sydney, an unbeaten fifty during the 2015 World Cup final against New Zealand in Melbourne and a half-century during the 2019 World Cup semi-final against England in Birmingham.
In ICC knockouts, Smith has accumulated 418 runs at 69.66, including a century and four fifties in seven knocks. The only Australian who boasts better numbers is former all-rounder Shane Watson.
Smith was gifted a couple of reprieves during Tuesday’s semi-final — the right-hander was on 22 when the ball rolled into his stumps without dislodging the bails, while seamer Mohammed Shami put down a tough return chance on 36.
However, the New South Welshman ran out of luck in the 37th over when he missed a low full toss from Shami that crashed into off stump, ending a 54-run partnership with Alex Carey for the fifth wicket. The dismissal prompted a late collapse of 6-68.
MISSED CHANCE PROMPTS 2023 WORLD CUP FLASHBACKS
For a fleeting moment, it looked as though history was repeating itself.
After getting off to a flying start, Indian captain Rohit Sharma miscued a lofted shot towards the extra cover region, with an Australian fielder sprinting back to claim a diving catch.
During the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, Travis Head’s fielding effort proved a turning point in the match, with India’s innings stalling after Sharma’s premature departure.
But on this occasion, the catch couldn’t be taken.
Sharma was on 14 in the third over when Marnus Labuschagne spilled what would have been an excellent outfield catch, with the ball bouncing off his palm into the turf. Apart from the execution, it was almost identical to Head’s running catch from 18 months earlier — and the parallels didn’t go unnoticed.
Sharma, who was also dropped in the second over for 13, had the umpires literally diving for cover as he bludgeoned Australia’s seamers around the venue. Steve Smith’s men would have been wondering whether their sloppy fielding had cost them a spot in the Champions Trophy final.
However, spinner Connolly removed the dangerous Sharma in the eighth over for 28 to put the match back in the balance.
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