Kohli's 84 sends India into Champions Trophy final
India put up a good fight but lacked experience to hold a chase of 300. 2025 | 11 min read
India 307 for 4 (Kohli 84, Iyer 60, Rahul 60, Gill 2-0, Zampa 2-0, Abbott 2-0) beat Australia 304 (Smith 72, Carey 51, Warner 44, Jadeja 3-0, Ashwin 3-0) by 3 wickets
Despite being on the back foot in the Champions Trophy, India will be in the final after putting up a good fight against Australia in a nail-biting semi-final. After losing three quick wickets, India weren’t able to achieve Australia’s score in the 40th over. However, Kohli’s 84 and Iyer’s 60 helped India recover from the early setback and win the match in the 48th over. The Australian team looked back in form with their bowling, but the Indian batting lineup proved to be the difference in the end.
India’s 307 for 4 was a hard-fought score against a strong Australian bowling attack. Kohli’s 84 was the standout performance, supported by Iyer’s 60 and Rahul’s 60. Australia’s bowlers, led by Zampa and Abbott, each took 2 wickets, but it wasn’t enough to stop India’s momentum. On the other hand, Australia’s 304 was built on a solid foundation by Smith’s 72, Carey’s 51, and Warner’s 44. India’s spinners, Jadeja and Ashwin, were crucial in restricting Australia, each taking 3 wickets.
They only needed 12 off those final balls. Kohli and Iyer’s partnership was key to India’s success, ensuring they chased down the target with 3 wickets in hand.
That’s that from us tonight. India qualify for the FINAL and will face the winner of the second semi-final which will be played tomorrow between South Africa and New Zealand. We will be back nice and early for that game. But till then, this is me Ashish Pant, signing off on behalf of Gnasher, Ranjith and Chandan. Ciao!
Steven Smith, the Australia captain: The bowlers did a really good job. The spinners squeezed them and took the game deeper. [Pitch] It was a tricky wicket to start on and we did a good job, played similar throughout the game. A bit of hold and skid for spinners, it was a little two-paced. It wasn’t the easiest batting condition. We could have put a few more runs on the board. If we had 280-plus, it could have been different. We were one wicket down too many at each stage of the game. [On CT 23] Just the way we have come together. The bowling was quite inexperienced. Some of the batters stood up. The England game, they came up strong. They will continue to get bigger and better.
Rohit Sharma, the India captain: Till the last ball is bowled, nothing is certain. Halfway through the game, we felt it was a reasonable score, and we have to bat really really well. I thought we were very clinical with the bat. We were very calm and composed. The wicket looked better, and that has been the nature of the surfaces. The one which played today was slightly better. We just want to play good cricket and not read too much into what the pitch is doing. [Six bowling options] That is something I really wanted, to have six bowling options and then batting till No. 8 as well. This is something we discussed while making the squad. Credit everyone involved. When you have six bowling options, you can choose from anyone you want. [On Kohli] He has done it for us for so many years. We were very calm. We wanted that big stand which Shreyas and Virat had. Then the shots by Hardik in the end were very important. [Looking ahead] Very happy with that. When you want to play the final, you want all your guys in form. That is something that gives us a lot of confidence. We will not think too much about it. When the time comes, we will think about it. I also want the guys to relax.
Virat Kohli is the player of the match: [On the innings] I think it was pretty similar to the other day against Pakistan as well. I think there was about seven fours when I got a hundred. For me, it’s about just understanding the conditions and preparing my game accordingly, just rotating strike. Because partnerships, I think the time that I got out, the plan was to get 20 more and then try and finish it off in a couple of fours. Usually that’s the template I follow but sometimes you can’t execute things how you want to. It’s all dependent on the conditions the pitch tells me, how the cricket needs to be played then I just switch on and play accordingly.
[What aspect of the innings pleased him most] I think my timing. The composure at the crease, I wasn’t feeling desperate. I was pretty happy knocking ones around. When as a batsman you start taking pride in hitting those singles in 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 a little bit and head towards chasing the total down. That for me in the game against Pakistan and today, that was the most satisfying factor for me.