Reigning world champions Australia will be facing India in the first semifinal of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The game is scheduled to be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday (March 4).
This will be the first ODI between India and Australia since the 2023 World Cup final. Australia had defeated India on that occasion and will be fancying their chances of knocking them out of the ongoing tournament as well.
So, as Australia gears up for the huge clash against India, we are taking a look at the Australia Playing 11.
Australia Playing 11 vs India- ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Semifinal 1:
Openers: Matthew Short, Travis Head
Matthew Short and Travis Head are set to be the openers in the Australia Playing 11 for the upcoming semifinal. The Australia openers have looked in good touch in the Champions Trophy and will be keen to give their team a good start in the forthcoming game.
Short, who scored a fifty against England, got the start against Afghanistan as well but could not convert it into a big score. He scored 20 runs and will be eyeing a big score in the upcoming game.
On the other hand, Head, who had failed to impress against England, bounced back in style with a quickfire fifty against Afghanistan. The southpaw remained unbeaten on 59 off just 40 balls before rain brought a premature end to the game.
Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell
Barring captain Steve Smith, no other batsmen from Australia’s middle-order got the chance to bat against Afghanistan owing to rain. Most of the batsmen had impressed against England in the first game and will be looking to deliver in the upcoming game as well.
Marnus Labuschagne had useful contributions with both bat and ball against England. With the ball, he picked up 2 wickets before scoring 47 runs. He did not get the chance to bowl or bat against Afghanistan but is expected to retain his spot in the Australia Playing 11.
While Josh Inglis and Alex Carey also did not bat against Afghanistan, they had impressed with the bat against England. The two batsmen had shared a match-winning partnership of 146 runs for the fifth wicket. Carey departed for 69 runs while Inglis went on to score a fine century and remained unbeaten on 120.
Maxwell did not bat against Afghanistan either but managed to bowl six overs. In those six overs, he conceded 28 runs and picked up a wicket. Earlier against England, he had picked up the big wicket of Jos Buttler. With the bat, he had scored an unbeaten 32 off just 15 balls. These middle-order players might feature in the Australia Playing 11 vs India.
Bowlers: Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Australia are unlikely to make any change to their bowling lineup for the semifinals. The Australia Playing 11 is set to have three specialist pacers and one spinner. Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson are expected to be the three fast-bowlers while Adam Zampa will be leading the spin attack.
Dwarshuis continued his impressive display with the ball by picking up 3 wickets against Afghanistan and will look to impress in the semifinal as well.
Earlier against England, he had picked up 3 wickets as well. On the other hand, Johnson and Zampa claimed 2 wickets each while Ellis picked up 1 wicket.
