India out to milk venue advantage against Australia in Champions Trophy semi-final

Rohit plays down venue advantage, says Dubai "not our home" ground so team expects "some nervy times".

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Blessed with a venue advantage and with a depleted Australia at their disposal, India will be gunning for revenge when the familiar foes clash in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday.

India have stuck to their position of not touring Pakistan because of the strained political relations between the Asian neighbours, who play each other only in global events.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), headed by former Indian board secretary Jay Shah, has drawn flak for allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai and getting what many consider an unfair advantage.

While most Group A teams shuttled between two of the three venues in Pakistan and flew to Dubai for their match against India, Rohit Sharma and his men have been spared any travel hassle.

By staying put in one venue, they have gained valuable insights into the vastly different conditions in Dubai, where spinners have dominated typically low-scoring matches.

With an injury-ravaged Australia fielding a depleted side, India sense an opportunity to settle a score against an opponent who beat them in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-overs World Cup — both in 2023.

In absence of Australia’s frontline quicks, including regular skipper Pat Cummins, stop-gap captain Steve Smith will be banking on his second-string pace attack to make early dents in India’s batting lineup.

India’s four-pronged spin unit claiming nine of the 10 New Zealand wickets on Sunday while successfully defending 249-9 was a fair indication of the turn on offer in Dubai.

Varun Chakravarthy, India’s fourth spinner, claimed 5-42 in his Champions Trophy debut leaving skipper Rohit with “a good headache”.

While Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are known for their spin proficiency, Australia will also count on the firepower that Josh Inglis provides in the middle order.

India will also be sick of the sight of their familiar nemesis Travis Head.

Head smashed match-winning hundreds against them in both the finals of the ICC events two years ago and the opener seems to have regained his form just in time.

Australia substituted injured opener Matthew Short with spin bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly but the onus will be on Adam Zampa to lead their spin attack.

“I don’t think I’m bowling quite at my best but I like to think the beauty about me, when I’m not quite at my best and not feeling that great out there, is my ability to still contribute and take those big wickets,” leg-spinner Zampa said.

‘This is not our home’: Rohit plays down venue advantage

On the other hand, Rohit denied they held any advantage and said surfaces at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium behaved differently.

“There are four or five surfaces that are being used and every surface has a different nature,” the opener said ahead of tomorrow’s semi-final against Australia.

India’s Rohit Sharma during the warm up before a Champions Trophy match against New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium, United Arab Emirates on March 2, 2025. — Reuters

“The pitches look the same, but when you play on it, it has played in a different way. So, you can’t go thinking ‘we played like this yesterday, and today we’ll play like this’.

“We don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-final. But whatever happens, we have to adapt and see what is happening.

“This is not our home, this is Dubai. We don’t play so many matches here. This is new for us too.”

India are unbeaten in this year’s tournament but Rohit predicted tough contest against Australia.

“Look, Australia have been such a great team over the years,” said Rohit. “So we will expect some fightbacks, we will expect some nervy times as well in the middle.

“But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about a semi-final,” the Indian skipper said.

India’s Varun Chakravarthy bowls during the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international (ODI) cricket match between New Zealand and India at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on March 2, 2025. — AFP

He acknowledged: “Look, it is a great opposition to play against.

“All we have to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion. We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that.”

India went in with four spinners including two all-rounders in their last group match in Dubai and came up trumps with Chakravarthy returning figures of 5-42.

Rohit said he will be tempted to keep the same combination against Australia.

“He just showed what he is capable of,” Rohit said of man of the match Chakravarthy, a wrist spinner with many variations up his sleeve.

“Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. He did everything that was asked for… it is a good headache to have.”

Australia ready for India’s spin challenge, says Smith

Australia captain Steve Smith says his team are confident they can counter India’s spin attack in the semi-final in Dubai.

Australia beat rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain in the Pakistani cities of Rawalpindi and Lahore.

“Yeah, I mean, not just Chakravarthy, I think the rest of their spin is quality as well,” Smith told reporters on Monday, talking about India’s bowling lineup. “So I think for us, the game is probably won and lost how we play their spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge…

“I think there’s going to be some spin, by the looks of it. Yeah, we’ve got to counter that… We’ve got a few options of ways we can go about it.”

Australian captain Steve Smith addresses a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 21. — Reuters/File

The world champions are missing several key players, including fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc due to injuries.

But Smith said they could call upon part-time spinners, including Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to support Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell on a track he believes “looks a dry surface”.

“We’ve got a lot of part-time options that could certainly play a role on here and a couple of front-liners as well,” he said.

Aggressive Head

Cooper Connolly, a batting all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, has joined the squad as a replacement for Matthew Short, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a thigh injury.

When asked about India’s playing on only one ground, Smith played down any perceived disadvantage.

“We guessed right in the end,” Smith said on his team’s travelling to Dubai. “We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble, I suppose, in Pakistan with the security and stuff. It’s been nice to just have a couple of days chill here, a bit of training.”

Australia beat India by six wickets in the 2023 World Cup final, with Head hitting an unbeaten 137.

“I mean, there’s pressure every time you play in a big game,” said Smith of Head. “But, as we know, Travis has stood up in many of those in the past. And, you know, he looked in great touch the other night against Afghanistan.

“I’m sure he’s going to be looking to come out here and play the same way he’s played for a long time, with good intent, good aggression.”

Header image: India’s captain Rohit Sharma (L) and his teammate Virat Kohli (C) celebrate their team’s win in the ICC Champions Trophy ODI match between New Zealand and India at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on March 2, 2025. — AFP

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