Champions Trophy semi-final, Dubai
Australia 264 (49.3 overs): Smith 73, Carey 61; Shami 3-48
India 267-6 (48.1 overs): Kohli 84; Ellis 2-49, Zampa 2-60
India won by four wickets
Scorecard
India held their nerve to reach the Champions Trophy final with a four-wicket victory over Australia in Dubai.
Chasing 265, Virat Kohli compiled a typically composed 84 after the loss of captain Rohit Sharma and fellow opener Shubman Gill inside the first eight overs.
Kohli – the master of such chases – looked to be easing his side to victory, only to slap to Adam Zampa at long-on when 40 runs were needed from 45 balls.
Australia cannily applied the squeeze but two towering straight sixes from Hardik Pandya in a 24-ball 28 broke the tension.
The swaggering all-rounder holed out with India six away, which left KL Rahul to win the match with a six of his own with 11 balls to spare against the side who beat them in the 2023 World Cup final.
India, supported by a loud, partisan crowd, also held firm excellently with the ball to dismiss Australia for 264 in 49.3 overs.
Australia were well placed at 198-4 in the 38th but fell away when captain Steve Smith, who dug in for 73, and Glenn Maxwell were bowled in the space of six balls.
India’s win means Sunday’s final will be played in Dubai, rather than Lahore as initially planned because of their decision not to travel to hosts Pakistan.
They will play New Zealand or South Africa, who contest the second semi-final on Wednesday in Lahore.
Having moved serenely through the group stage, this was India’s sternest test.
Ultimately they came through with another confident victory to continue their quest for a second global title in eight months after they won the T20 crown last year.
The match was probably decided at the end of Australia’s innings. Another 20, even 30 runs, were possible and it may have been enough.
Instead, Kohli was able to steer his side on after Gill was bowled for eight and Rohit Sharma pinned lbw by left-arm spinner Cooper Connolly for 28.
Australia, without Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood here, were always asking a lot of an inexperienced bowling attack. Smith may rue the decision to bat first, given the pitch did not turn as much as expected.
Glenn Maxwell dropped Kohli on 51 but he was otherwise typically assured – the only surprise coming when he was dismissed by Zampa to set up a more tense finish than was expected.
The crowd was quiet when the equation tightened to 24 runs required from 20 balls but erupted when Hardik struck consecutive sixes off Zampa.
India have had plenty in their favour by playing all of their matches in Dubai. They are going to get one more on Sunday.
Australia’s innings was built around stand-in skipper Smith.
He came in after Connolly, not in Australia’s squad 48 hours ago, was dismissed for a torturous duck, having been well beaten by six of his nine balls.
Travis Head hit a match-winning 137 when these sides last met in the 2023 World Cup final and threatened again by hitting five fours and two sixes in a 33-ball 39 before chipping the second ball bowled by spinner Varun Chakravarthy to long-off.
That left Smith to nudge and nurdle a rebuild, doing so effectively by rotating the strike in partnerships of 56 with Marnus Labuschagne and 54 with Alex Carey.
The 37th and 38th overs went a long way to deciding the game, however.
Australia were eyeing 320 when Smith advanced towards and missed a Mohammed Shami full toss. Maxwell swept a six off Axar Patel in the next over but was then bowled going back to a quicker delivery.
Only 59 runs came after Maxwell was dismissed – a brilliant run-out of Carey for 61 also crucial.
Shreyas Iyer swooped to collect at short fine leg and hit direct as Carey, who had timed the ball as well as anyone in striking eight fours and a six, returned for the second.
This has still been another strong showing for Australia, who end a long winter that included an epic Test series win over India and victory in Sri Lanka.
India captain Rohit Sharma: “Until the last ball is bowled, nothing is certain. That’s how this game is. Halfway through the game, we felt like it was a reasonable score and we’d have to bat really bat well to get it because the nature of the pitch was – it didn’t allow you to play how you wanted to play.
“We were very, very clinical with the bat. Yes, we got the runs at the 48th over but I thought we were very calm and composed in our chase.”
BBC commentator Aatif Nawaz: “There is a huge self-assuredness about the way Virat Kohli bats. He doesn’t worry about how many fours or sixes he scores, he just adapts his game to the task at hand. He takes his ego out of the equation completely and delivers for the team.
“He has an instinct for the game and is one of the best to ever do it.”
Australia captain Steve Smith: “I thought the bowlers did a really good job. Our spinners squeezed and enabled us to take the game deep. It was tough to rotate the strike at times but I thought everyone did a good job tonight.
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