It’s been a while since India outwitted Australia in the knockout stages of a 50-over ICC tournament. One has to go all the way back to 2011, and the quarterfinal of the World Cup in Ahmedabad, to zero in on that eventuality. Either side of that, especially in World Cups, it’s been Australia all the way – the 2003 final in Johannesburg. The 2015 semifinal in Sydney. And, most heartbreakingly, the 2023 title clash in Ahmedabad.
In the
Champions Trophy, India have a better knockout record against their bugbears – a perfect two and nought, though those two victories came in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively of the 1998 and 2000 editions of the ICC KnockOut Trophy, the original avatar of this tournament. As the teams brace for the semifinal of this edition of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday, here’s a look at what India can do to get their own back against Steve Smith’s men.
It’s been 13 One-Day Internationals since India last won the toss, in the 2023 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. Since then,
Rohit Sharma (10 games) and KL Rahul have both been on the wrong side of the spin of the coin. If Rohit can break that sequence, it will give him the chance to decide what to do. India have won chasing (twice) and defending a target here, but if the unused track at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is anything to go by, runs on the board could be the way to go. Of course, the loss of all those tosses hasn’t prevented India from stacking up an 8-4 win-loss record (one tie) in the last 14 and a half months.
Travis Head has been a thorn in India’s side for a long time now. The aggressive left-hander took the 2023 World Test Championship final away from Rohit’s men with a blazing 163 and reprised those heroics in the World Cup final five months later with a decisive 137. Even in Gros Islet in the T20 World Cup last June when India came through by 24 runs, Head led a stunning onslaught on India’s 205 with a 43-ball 76. In December, he smashed big hundreds in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide and the next game in Brisbane, both at a frenetic pace. Without Jasprit Bumrah, India will have their task cut out. Head relishes room outside the off-stump. If India can cramp him up and keep him quiet, a get-out-of-jail shot won’t be too far away.
Against New Zealand, India played four specialist spinners for the first time in their ODI history because the conditions dictated so. Another dry surface is on the cards but even if India swap one spinner for Harshit Rana, they are well stocked to test Australia’s middle order, in which Josh Inglis and the maverick, Glenn Maxwell, loom as dangerous ball-strikers. The middle overs of an ODI are often where games are won and lost. India will have at least one, potentially two wrist-spinners in Varun Chakravarthy, whom Australia haven’t faced previously, and Kuldeep Yadav. It is imperative that they look for wickets instead of keeping things tight.