India meets Australia for spot in the Champions Trophy final: Match Preview

Once again, the business end of an ICC tournament sets up to contain theatrics, fireworks and drama. India’s knockout contest with Australia will have it all.

There’s no question the Indians will have 2023 on their mind… and perhaps even the recent Border-Gavaskar series played down under.

One thing that can’t be questioned is Australia’s capacity to rise to the challenge in the biggest games, even without the presence of several key contributors.

So can India hold their nerve, execute and come up clutch on the big stage?

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

How to watch the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Recent form:

India: It’s hard to fault India’s form, after their win over New Zealand capped off a perfect group stage, winning all three in Dubai. Having those games and time to adjust to the Dubai conditions will also hold them in good stead, with India to unleash potentially up to four spinners good enough to make dangerous inroads.

Australia: Two of the Aussies’ three Champions Trophy games have been rain-affected, including one completely abandoned. But they were on track to cruise to an impressive victory last start against Afghanistan, before rain ended proceedings, and started the tournament with an impressive win over England that involved a mammoth run chase.

Players in focus:

India: Kuldeep Yadav

Given India’s well-publicised spin bowling bullpen, Kuldeep is an obvious player to highlight. He’s taken multiple wickets in two of India’s three group stage games and will have all the confidence he needs to hit his spots in the middle overs, once the ball stops swinging. Kuldeep’s 3/40 against Pakistan helped restrict their rivals to 241 all out, which was chased down comfortably by India’s batting lineup.

Australia: Adam Zampa

It’s no surprise Australia’s spin bowlers will need to step up in Dubai. The XI the Aussies opt for will be fascinating, as to whether they stick to three quicks or deploy an additional slow bowling option. Either way, Australia will need to maximise their returns from Zampa’s 10 overs. By his own admission, the 32-year-old leg-spinner hasn’t been at his best in the Champions Trophy. So this is his time to shine.

How to watch:

India: JioStar (Live streaming on Jio Hotstar, Television coverage on Star and Network 18 channels)

Pakistan: PTV and Ten Sports, Streaming options: Myco and Tamasha app

UAE and MENA: CricLife Max and CricLife Max2, Streaming option: STARZPLAY

UK: Live broadcasting on Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action, Digital coverage via SkyGO, NOW and Sky Sports App

USA and Canada: WillowTV, Streaming on Willow by Cricbuzz app (Hindi coverage available)

Caribbean: ESPNCaribbean on TV, Streaming via ESPN Play Caribbean app

Australia: PrimeVideo (coverage available in Hindi too)

New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ, digital coverage via Now and SkyGo app.

South Africa and sub-Saharan territories: SuperSport and SuperSport App

Bangladesh: Nagorik TV and T Sports for linear broadcast, digital via Toffee app

Afghanistan: ATN

Sri Lanka: Maharaja TV (TV1 on Linear), Digital via Sirasa

The games can also be viewed on ICC.tv (In select territories)