Hardik Pandya’s monster hits got India close and then KL Rahul finished it off with a six of his own. But the chase was constructed expertly by Virat Kohli, who fell 16 runs short of a second century in this tournament.
AMN
India entered the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, defeating Australia by 4 wickets in the first semi-final of the tournament at Dubai .
Chasing a target of 265 runs set by Australia, the Men in Blue reached the target in 48.1 overs with 4 wickets remaining. With this, India sealed its birth for the final to be played on Sunday.
Earlier, opting to bat first, Australia were bowled out for 264 runs with three balls to spare due to disciplined bowling efforts by Men in Blue. Skipper Steven Smith was the top-scorer for Australia, contributing 73 runs off 96 balls, followed by Alex Carey with 61 runs off 57 balls and Travis Head with 39 off 33 balls also played crucial knocks.
On the other hand, Mohammed Shami was the pick of Indian bowlers, taking three wickets while Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja picked two wickets each. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya scalped a wicket each.
In the second semi-final tomorrow, New Zealand will face South Africa in Lahore. The winners of both semi-finals will clash in the final on Sunday.