The Indian team, which has been undefeated in the Champions Trophy so far, will face the biggest challenge on Tuesday. India will face Australia, against whom its record in ICC tournaments is not very good. This same Kangaroo team had shattered India's dream of becoming the world champion in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and once again Rohit Sharma's army will face Australia.

Won all matches in the group stage

India was successful in winning all three matches in Group A. The Indian team first defeated Bangladesh and then defeated arch-rival Pakistan to secure a place in the semi-finals. After this, it finished the group stage on top by winning over New Zealand in the last group match on Sunday. India showed its strength in batting and bowling in all three matches and now there is a gap of two wins between it and the title.

Australia is a big challenge.

The Australian team does not have star players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, despite this the team looks strong. Australia defeated England in the first match of the group stage. Australia had achieved the biggest target in the history of the ICC ODI tournament in that match. Before the first match, it seemed that the Australian team was weak, but the way it defeated England proved that the Kangaroo team plays in a different rhythm in ICC tournaments. After this, both the matches in Australia were washed out due to rain. The match against South Africa was canceled without playing a single ball, while one innings was completed against Afghanistan and Australia also played 12.5 overs while chasing the target.

Less chance of change in the winning combination

India had decided to field four spinners and two fast bowlers against New Zealand, which proved to be right. Before the tournament, the decision to include five spinners in the team was criticized a lot, but now it is proving to be a masterstroke on the slow pitches of Dubai. The Indian team got the benefit of fielding four spinners because nine wickets of New Zealand were taken by spinners only. This was the first occasion in the Champions Trophy when spinners took nine wickets in a match. Varun Chakraborty impressed a lot against New Zealand who was successful in taking five wickets.

The Indian spin quartet Varun, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel took nine wickets against New Zealand. They bowled 128 dot balls in 39 overs. Even a patient batsman like Kane Williamson lost his composure in front of Axar Patel and was stumped by KL Rahul. Therefore, it is certain that India will enter the semi-finals with four spinners. At the same time, experienced bowler Mohammed Shami will be with Hardik Pandya in the fast bowling department. Shami, however, bowled only four overs against New Zealand and he was empty-handed.

It is important to stop Travis Head.

The biggest challenge for India in this match will be to stop Travis Head. Head's bat runs fiercely against India, especially in ICC tournaments, he troubles the Indian bowlers a lot. This is the same Head who led Australia to victory with his brilliant batting in the final of the 2023 World Test Championship and the final of the 2023 World Cup. Head scored an unbeaten 59 off 40 balls against Afghanistan, which shows that he is in form. There will be a lot of expectations from Shami against Head.

The probable playing 11 of India and Australia for the semi-final match is as follows...

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakraborty, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.

Australia: Jack Fraser McGurk, Travis Head, Steve Smith (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.

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