Dubai: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the first semi-final, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The two powerhouses will meet for the first time in the ODI format since their epic meeting in the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup Final. Ahead of an all-important clash in the ongoing marquee event, both teams were seen getting out of their respective buses outside the stadium. Since India won its quarter-final game at the 2011 World Cup, the two sides have faced each other four times in the ICC ODI tournaments. India and Australia have won two games each. India’s victories came in the round-robin matches at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. On the other hand, their heartbreaking defeats unfolded in the 2015 semi-finals and the 2023 final. Since their last encounter on November 19, 2023, there has been a complete difference between the two sides that will line up on Tuesday in front of a vibrant crowd in Dubai.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Australia: Steve Smith (c), 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.