A fantastic contest between two top nations with India sealing their place in yet another Champions Trophy grand finale! Brilliant from the bowlers, excellent from Virat Kohli and wonderful from KL Rahul as a combined team effort pushes India to a famous victory against a top Australian side.
That will be all from our coverage today, thank you for joining us throughout the day. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentators AkshayaKrishna Polya, Pritam Dey & Akshay Bhide alongside scorer/analyst Raju Khariya and statistician Aman. Stay glued for more cricketing action from around the world.
Highest targets successfully chased down in Champions Trophy knockouts:
282 by South Africa vs England (Quarter Final), Dhaka, 1998
265 by New Zealand vs India (Final), Nairobi, 2000
265 by India vs Bangladesh (Semi-Final), Edgbaston, 2017
265 by India vs Australia (Semi-Final), Dubai, 2025, Tonight*
Most ODI victories without a defeat at a venue:
10 - New Zealand in Dunedin
9 - India in Dubai
7 - India in Indore
7 - Pakistan at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad in Pakistan
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "Till the last ball is bowled, nothing is certain. We had to bat really well to get to that score. The nature of the surface doesn't allow you to play the way we play. Yes we got the runs in the 48th over but we were quite calm and composed in the chase.
It looked better. That's been the nature of surfaces here. The one used today played slightly better than the game against New Zealand. It's about understanding the situation and taking it from there. There are a lot of experienced guys in the group. We leave it to them.
We wanted to have 6 bowling options and to have batting till number 8 as well. This is something we discussed while making the squad. Credit to everyone who were involved in making that team. When you have 6 bowling options, you can chose depending on the batters and the matchups. The guys know what is required out of them.
Kohli has done it for us for so many years. When we were batting we were very calm. We needed the big partnership that Shreyas and Virat had which was very very good. Axar-Virat, Rahul-Virat and the winning partnership was also very good.
Very happy with that to be honest. You want all your guys to be in form before the finals. All these guys have made an impact whenever they have got an opportunity which gives us a lot of confidence going into the finals. We will put our thinking caps on when the time comes.
Both are good teams that's why they are in the semis. I want the guys to have some time off and relax because it's a very high pressure tournament and you go through so much emotions in the game so it's good to have some time off. Tomorrow we will try to relax."
Steve Smith (Australia Captain): "I think the bowlers did a very good job. They worked hard throughout the innings. The spinners put the squeeze on and took the game deep. I thought the wicket was a bit tricky tonight. It was hard to get in and rotate the strike at times. Everyone did a really good job tonight.
Don't think the wicket changed much throughout the course of the game. The ball was holding a bit for the spinners. Little bit of spin here and there and little bit of skid as well for them. I felt it was a bit two-paced for the pacers. Balls were just holding up little bit. Not easiest of wickets to bat on. We probably could have got more on that wicket. We lost wickets at crucial times. If we had posted 280+, things would have been different.
It felt like we were one wicket down at each stage. Felt that if we had got 280, it would have been competitive.
(On Champions Trophy 2025 campaign) Just the way we have come together. The bowling unit was quite an inexperienced but everyone did a wonderful job. Some of the batters too stood up. That game against England, I feel we played really well. There were some glimpses. They will continue to get bigger and better."
Rohit Sharma becomes the first captain to reach the finals of all ICC tournaments (World Test Championship, Cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy).
Highest chases vs Australia in ICC ODI events:
274 by West Indies at Lord's, 1983 (WC) 265 by India in Dubai, 2025 (CT) - TONIGHT*
260 by England in Birmingham, 2004 (CT)
Virat Kohli (POTM): "I think it was pretty similar to the other game against Pakistan. I hit about only 7 fours in that 100. My only effort that day and today was about to string a few partnerships.
For me, it is about understanding the basics and preparing my game accordingly. It is all dependent on the pitch. Accordingly, I plan and play my innings. As a batter, you take pride in hitting the gaps and finding the singles. It is about understanding the conditions and rotating the strike because partnerships on these pitches are essential.
The time that I got out, the plan was to get 20 more and try and finish it off in a couple of overs. Usually that's the template I follow but sometimes you can't execute what you want to. My timing and my composure at the crease were pleasing for me. I didn't feel rushed. The singles that I took were the most pleasing part for me. That is when you know you are playing good cricket and you know you are in for a big partnership. In the game against Pakistan and today, that was the most pleasing factor for me.
This game was all about handling the pressure in these big matches. If you go deep into the game, the opposition usually gives in and the game becomes easier. It is important to control your impulses and nerves. For me it's important to know the number of overs and runs left. Even if the gap is 25-30 and it comes to 6 an over, I am not bothered if we have 6-7 wickets in hand.
I don't know whether this is my best innings. I have said it before as well. It is for you guys to decide. You guys sit and break it down. I have never focused on those things. When you don't think of those milestones, they happen along with the wins. They are the parts of the game. If I get to the three-figure mark, it is great, but the win is important. For me, those things don't matter anymore. It's just about stepping out and hopefully doing the job for the team. Thank You."