Here are the Cricket Match Predictions for the ICC Champions Trophy, Semi Final 1 – India vs Australia, to be played on March 4th, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.
Semi Final 1 – India vs Australia (Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai)
Current Form India:
India finished at the 1st position in Group A points table and they will now face Australia in the 1st Semi Final of the tournament.
The top run scorer for India in the Champions Trophy is Shreyas Iyer with 150 runs to his name.
The top wicket taker for India in the Champions Trophy is Varun Chakravarthy with 5 scalps under his belt.
India have beaten New Zealand in their last league game in a convincing manner by 44 runs.
India batted first and they posted a total of 249 for 9 on a tough pitch to bat on. They lost 3 early wickets and looked to be struggling to right from the word go. However, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer had their backs. Patel made 42 off 61 balls while Iyer scored 79 runs in 98 balls. Hardik Pandya in the middle order smashed 45 runs in the death overs to boost the total of 249 in 50 overs of play.
During the chase, New Zealand lost their star batter Rachin Ravindra early on in the innings. After his dismissal, Will Young and Kane Williamson batted patiently and they were involved in a 2nd wicket partnership of 32 runs. Kane Williamson batted a long innings while wickets kept falling at the other end in regular succession. Once he got out after making 81 runs, it was all over for New Zealand. They were eventually bowled out for 205, losing the match by 44 runs.
Current Form Australia:
Australia finished at the 2nd position in Group B points table and they will now face India in the 1st Semi Final of the tournament.
The top run scorer for Australia in the Champions Trophy is Josh Inglis with 120 runs to his name.
The top wicket taker for Australia in the Champions Trophy is Ben Dwarshuis with 6 scalps under his belt.
The previous match of Australia against Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain. However, in their last outing, Australia won against England by 5 wickets.
England batted first and they posted a total of 351 for 8 in 50 overs. Philip Salt and Jamie Smith got out without troubling the scorers much. After their dismissals, Ben Duckett and Joe Root were involved in a partnership of 158 runs for the 3rd wicket. Jos Buttler, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone all failed to get going but Ben Duckett kept finding gaps at ease. He scored 165 runs off 143 balls to help England get to a tall total of 351 in their innings.
During the chase, Australia couldn’t get off to an ideal start, losing their key batters Steven Smith and Travis Head cheaply. After their dismissals, Matthew Short and Marnus Labuschagne were involved in an important partnership of 95 runs for the 3rd wicket. Short and Labuschagne got out in quick succession but Josh Inglis then took the responsibility of taking Australia over the line. Along with Alex Carey, he took the English bowlers on and kept finding boundaries in regular intervals. Carey made 69 while Inglis smashed 120 runs to win the game for Australia in the 48th over with 5 wickets in hand
Let’s have a look at the squads:
Australia
Steve Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
India
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy
Cricket Match Predictions* – PrePlay
Who will win the toss? – India
Who will win?- India
Top Batter (Runs Scored) – Shubman Gill (India), Alex Carey (Australia)
Top Bowler (Wickets taken) – Varun Chakravarthy (India), Nathan Ellis (Australia)
Most Sixes – Shubman Gill (India), Alex Carey (Australia)
Player of the Match- Varun Chakravarthy (India)
Team Scores Batting first –India 260+, Australia 245+
