Chasemaster Virat Kohli propels India to Champions Trophy final at Australia's expense

Dubai witnessed Team India erupting into incessant rapture as they avenged their defeat from the 2023 World Cup final in stunning fashion, sending Australia crashing out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. A high-octane battle unleashed the best in both the sides and eventually after some topsy-turvy action, the Men in Blue prevailed over the Aussies.

Winning the toss, Australia opted to bat first. India dealt them an early blow with Mohammed Shami getting rid of Cooper Connolly for 0. A half-century partnership between Travis Head (39) and Steve Smith (73) got the wheels back in motion for the Aussies.

Eventually it was India’s mystery man, Varun Chakravarthy who got rid of the dangerous Travis Head. Marnus Labuschagne joined Smith the in the center and the duo looked solid for another 56-runs stand as Australia’s recovery curve did inflict pressure on the Indians.

Jadeja produced the all-important breakthrough as he got the better of Labuschagne, allowing India to eye for a comeback. Josh Inglis (11) couldn't contribute much as Jadeja proved to be too hot to handle for the Aussie wicket-keeper.

Alex Carey’s arrival in the center bolstered the Australian stance once more as he and Smith added another 54 runs for the fifth wicket stand. Eventually it was Mohammed Shami who bowled Smith to provide India with a massive sigh of reprieve.

The fall of Smith cracked open the floodgates and India was quick to storm through. From 198/4, an avalanche of wickets saw the Aussies get skittled out for 264. After the departure of Smudge, it was Alex Carey who held fort for Australia with a valiant 61 while Mohammed Shami spearheaded the Indian charge with figures of 3/48.

Chasing 265, India had a bit of an early bump as Rohit Sharma was dropped twice while Shubman Gill fell for just eight on the board. Despite getting a couple of lifelines, Rohit Sharma couldn’t make the most of them as he fell for 28.

Reduced to 43/2, India had to rebuild and there were apprehensions about the total on the board which looked pretty daunting. However, Virat Kohli arrived in his most intimidating avatar and started regulating the shots, fending off the Aussie invasion with every succeeding minute. He had decent support from Shreyas Iyer who looked solid in the center.

Iyer (45) and Kohli (84) added a 91-run partnership for the third wicket as India stabilized their grip on the game. Adam Zampa removed Iyer but Axar Patel’s steady 27 saw India keep a firm hold over the fate of the match. Kohli called the shots emphatically, smashing his 74th half-century in ODIs.

Nathan Ellis claimed Axar Patel's wicket, only to pave the path for KL Rahul to step up. Rahul did show his grit and tenacity, pairing perfectly with the King as the duo motored along, piling up another 47 runs for the fifth wicket. While trying to attack Zampa, Kohli holed out to Ben Dwarshuis, falling short of his 83rd international ton by just 16 runs.

Despite Kohli’s fall, India kept their eyes on the game and eventually walked away with the bragging rights as Hardik Pandya’s breezy 28 in addition to Rahul’s unbeaten 42 saw them home without much fuss. Pandya was dismissed an inch ahead of the finishing line but Rahul’s coup-de-grace sealed the game a couple of balls later.