India will play Australia in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday, following their victory over New Zealand at the same venue on Sunday. New Zealand will travel to Lahore to face South Africa in the second semi-final on Wednesday.
Due to complex scheduling, both Australia and South Africa had arrived in Dubai in advance. An ICC official stated this was to give the team playing the Dubai semi-final (Australia) more preparation time. However, South Africa is in an awkward position, having flown from Pakistan to Dubai and now needing to return to Pakistan.
The scheduling issues arose because India refused to play matches in Pakistan. India’s semi-finals were always planned for Dubai, regardless of their Group A standing. This became inevitable after India declined to travel to Pakistan, despite the country being the official tournament host. The PCB tried to persuade India to visit Pakistan, proposing to host all their games in Lahore, but the BCCI stated the Indian government did not permit the team to play cricket in Lahore.
New Zealand is scheduled to fly from Dubai to Lahore early Monday morning, while South Africa will return to Pakistan later the same day, after spending about 36 hours in Dubai.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner mentioned post-match that they would depart Dubai around 12:30 or 1:00 PM to rest, train, and prepare for the game.
Rohit Sharma expressed satisfaction with India’s performance, being the only team with three wins in the Champions Trophy, and focused on the semi-final against Australia.
He emphasized the importance of momentum in short tournaments, aiming to win every match and correct mistakes. Rohit anticipates a good game against Australia, a team with a strong history in ICC tournaments, and hopes for a victory.
