HISTORY! India Field Rare Playing XI For First Time In 97 Years

India celebrate a wicket. [Source: @BCCI/X]

The first semi-final of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be remembered for India taking the field in a knockout match with a solitary fast bowler. In their 97 years of playing international cricket, it is the first time when India have fielded such a combination in either the semi-final or the final of an ICC event.

Speaking particularly of ICC ODI semi-finals or finals, it is only the fourth instance of a team not playing more than one pacer. Interestingly, the first two such instances had happened during the first two editions of the Champions Trophy in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

Over a decade after rare combinations in Dhaka and Nairobi, Sri Lanka became the first team to execute such a combination during an ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final. Facing New Zealand with just Lasith Malinga in their Playing XI in Colombo, it remains the only time when a team dared to play a World Cup semi-final or final with one specialist fast bowler. Below are all the four cases:

Such a combination, however, has been tried as many as seven times in the last two matches of ICC T20 World Cups over the years.

Did India Benefit From Playing One Specialist Pacer?

First things first, India didn’t include either of Harshit Rana or Arshdeep Singh to accompany Mohammed Shami in the Playing XI because of the conditions at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Having registered a triumph in the presence of a total of four spin-bowling options in their last league match against New Zealand at the same venue, it was understandable for captain Rohit Sharma to emulate a winning combination under the name of respecting the conditions.

In spite of the absence of multiple pacers inviting some criticism especially during a match which is being played on a fresh pitch, India have more or less justified their selection by bundling out Australia for 264 in 49.3 overs. As far as the pitch is concerned, if it didn’t turn like the one on Sunday, it neither produced outright assistance for fast bowlers.

For better context, Shami and all-rounder Hardik Pandya registered combined bowling figures of 15.3-0-88-4. Four Indian spinners, on the contrary, combined for 34-2-176-5 at an economy rate of 5.17.

Not that it’s going to be a straightforward run chase, but Indian batters will have to overcome such difficulties if they’re to stake claim on the silverware.

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