Match Preview India vs Australia in the semi-finals of an ICC tournament, those words are enough to get the juices flowing in any cricket fan. The last time both these teams met in an ICC event was back in June 2024 in the semis of the T20 World Cup where famously India got the better of Australia and went on to clinch the title. That win was touted as India's payback for the sour loss six months ago in front of more than one lakh people at Ahmedabad when Australia crushed India's hopes in the final of their home ODI World Cup and re-established the fact that Australia is indeed a beast in ICC tournaments. This time around there have been a few personnel changes, more so on the Aussie side, but that takes nothing away from this rivalry as both these teams find themselves at loggerheads once more at a global stage and a place in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy is at stake. For India, it is about burying the ghosts of the past and scripting a new chapter in this riveting rivalry, specially in the ODI format. On the other hand, Australia have yet another opportunity to remind the world and their opponents just as to why they are a different breed as both the teams push closer to a third CT title. India Riding on a big high having won all the three group stage matches, most of the the cricket pundits believe that India is the team to beat in this tournament. They have been camping in Dubai since the torunament has started and come the semi-finals they are well equipped and well rehearsed to make the most out of the conditions with all bases covered. The group stage was near-perfect for them as they pretty much tore apart every opposition that came in their way. Be it Mohammad Shami's 5-er and Shubman Gill's hundred in the first game against Bangladesh to Virat Kohli's 51st ODI century against Pakistan and then most recently a maiden 5-er for Varun Chakaravarthy coupled with Shreyas Iyer's 79, India have found different heroes in different games and yet they have been as cohesive as a unit can get. Australia Before the tournament started, people said that Australia might not do as well as they do not have their holy trinity with the ball and other key members as well but here we are with Australia into the semi-finals on the back of solid showing in the group stages bringing their A-game to the table in whatever limited opportunities they have had courtsey the rain. Rain and Australia have had a love-hate relationship over the past few editions of Champions Trophy and this time as well the rain Gods did not leave the Aussies alone as 2 out of their 3 group matches were washed out due to rain. But, in the one full game that they played they established a record as they chased down 352 against famous rivals England on the back of a maiden hundred from Josh Inglis. While rain did not allow their game against South Africa to begin, they were near their best in a do-or-die game against Afghanistan until rain played spoilsport once more. Travis Head stroked a fluent 40-ball 59 as the Aussies were cruising to the target after restricting the Afghans to 273 on a flat deck in Lahore. Ben Dwarshuis has led their inexperienced bowling attack with 6 wickets in 2 games while Adam Zampa has been as consistent as ever taking 4 wickets as well. What to Expect The surface at the Dubai International Stadium has slowed down as the tournament has progressed with all the India matches being scheduled here. For all the nostalgic cricket fans, Dubai has served up 90s kind of ODIs with an average first innings score of 239 in the three matches played here unlike the plethora of runs scored at other venues. Spin has come more and more in play and will be expected to play a key role in this semi-final as well. Batters who have been willing to put their heads down and grind it out have been the most successful as opposed to the bashers. Team Updates India As Varun Chakaravarthy trapped the Kiwis in his web of spin the other night, he also gave India a happy headche moving forward. The quartet of spinners are more than capable of strangling any opposition just like they did New Zealand, the question now in front of India is whether they will go back to Harshit Rana or continue with their four-man spin attack with Shami and Pandya as their seam options. The final call will be most probably based on the surface they will play on. Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana/Varun Chakrawarthy, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav Australia Unlike India, Australia have played all thier matcheds in Pakistan so far (Lahore, to be more specific) and conditions will be drastically different for them in Dubai. The good thing for them is that they have got to the venue a couple of days prior to the match and that should help them to get as accustomed as they can. Their opener Matt Short has been ruled out with a quad injury and they have named young left-hander Cooper Connolly as a replacement. Connolly bowls left-arm spin as well along with being a batter and that might give him the edge over their other option Jake Fraser-McGurk in their lineup. Keeping the conditions in mind, whether they include another leg-spinner in Tanveer Sangha in place of one of their seamers would be a thing to watch out for. Probable XI: Cooper Connolly/Jake Fraser-McGurk , Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson. Squads of both the teams India Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy. Australia Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Adam Zampa