Australia Brace For India Challenge With Intense Spin Training In Dubai Ahead Of IND vs AUS Semifinal

IND vs AUS Semifinal: Ahead of the high-stakes clash against India, Australia went full-throttle in practising to counter spin with an intense training session at the ICC Academy.

IND vs AUS: India are set to face Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal on March 2 (Tuesday) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium after they defeated New Zealand on Sunday to finish on the top in the Group A points table. Notably, even before the knowledge of having to face India in the semifinals, Australia put in the hard yards in Dubai to get accustomed to the spin conditions ahead of the IND vs AUS clash. 

As per a PTI report, Australia had an intense three-hour training session at the ICC Academy on Sunday afternoon, focusing primarily on countering spin. While senior players like captain Steve Smith and Travis Head had a light batting session, the younger members of the Aussie squad trained rigorously.

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For the unversed, India are playing all their matches in Dubai despite Pakistan being the host to the Champions Trophy 2025 event. While it was confirmed that the semifinal featuring India would be held in Dubai, their opponent depended on the outcome of the IND vs NZ match.

Australia Call On Seven Spinners To Gear Up For India Challenge In Dubai

The Steve Smith-led Australian team enlisted seven ICC Academy-based net bowlers, all spinners, including 20-year-old UAE slow left-arm orthodox bowler Harshit Seth. The group also featured two left-arm wrist-spinners (Chinaman), two off-spinners and a leg-spinner.  

Reflecting on the practice session, Harshit Seth, as per the report, revealed that the Australian batters specifically instructed net bowlers to deliver lengths that encouraged them to play drives and flicks.

Coming to the IND vs AUS semifinal clash, both India and Australia remained undefeated in the Champions Trophy 2025 group stage phase. However, while India won all their three group-stage matches, Australia won just one with rest of their matches yielding no result due to rain.

The last time India and Australia met in an ICC event knockout stage was when both teams clashed in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad where the Pat Cummins-led Australian team defeated Rohit Sharma’s team to clinch the sixth World Cup title.