
India finished at the top of Group A after beating New Zealand by 44 runs in their last group match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Now, India moves into the semi-finals and will play against Australia on Tuesday, March 4, in Dubai.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri shared his thoughts on the team selection for the next match. He feels that the same set of players should continue playing because the game is coming very soon. He said, “The square is a little tired at the moment, people have run on the pitch that is going to be used the day after, so the spinners will again come into play.” In simple words, Shastri believes that India’s spin bowlers are very important for the upcoming match.

In the game against New Zealand, India used four spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and the new player Varun Chakravarthy. Pacer Harshit Rana did not play that day. This plan worked well as the spinners bowled a total of 37.3 overs and took 9 out of the 10 wickets. Varun Chakravarthy did especially well, taking five wickets.
The spin attack helped India defend a total of 250 runs by keeping New Zealand’s batsmen in check on a slow pitch. Shastri believes that if India bats first and scores over 240-250 runs, the match will be very competitive, especially in a big game like a semi-final.
Now, India is ready to maintain their winning spirit against a strong Australian team, with their spin bowlers expected to play a key role in the game.