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Rohit Sharma's Toss Luck Goes South Again As Steve Smith And Co Opt To Bat First In Semis

Muskaan Bhatt

Australia won the toss (Source: JioHotstar)Australia won the toss (Source: JioHotstar)

It's time for cricket's very own, "El-Classico", as India are all set to lock horn with Australia in the crucial Semi-Final 1 of ICC's Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit Sharma's India once again failed to break their lengthy toss-losing streak as Australia won the toss and opted to bat first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. 

As revealed, India have kept the same lineup as the previous game. Australia, however, have made two changes: Matthew Short (injury) and Spencer Johnson are out, while Cooper Connolly and Spencer Johnson are brought in the playing XI.

IND vs AUS: Playing XIs

Australia Playing XI: Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

IND vs AUS: Captains Thoughts

Steven Smith (Australia Captain): "We are going to have a bat first. Looks like a dry surface. We want to put runs on the board. The guys had a couple of sessions in the academy. Looks like a lot drier. It should take some turn later on. Of Course, India are a good side. We have got two changes. Matthew Short is injured. Cooper Connolly comes in for Short. Tanveer Sangha comes in for Spencer Johnson."

Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "Ah, I was prepared to do both to be honest. The wicket out here has played differently. So, when you are in two minds, it's good to lose the toss. Yeah, we have played three games here. Every time the pitch has played differently. The pitch keeps changing it's nature and you have to play good cricket. We are really focused on doing our job right. We have defended totals and we have chased as well, so we are ready to do anything. Well look, there are 4 or 5 surfaces out here. 

Every wicket out here plays differently. The slower bowlers have got a lot of assistance from this surface.So, we are going with the same team. We are playing 4 spinners and 2 seamers. Yeah boys are very much okay in playing two games inside 3 days. We know that we are bowling first now, we need to try and restrict them to as less as possible."