India must consider themselves a bit unfortunate, that skipper Rohit Sharma is on a toss-losing spree. He has not lost 11 tosses in a row, and in a crucial encounter like the India vs Australia, Champions Trophy semi-final, it could be detrimental. The pitch at Dubai, coupled with the conditions aren’t really suitable for batting, with the average 1st innings score hovering at 218.
Australia Score 264, Hand India Tough Target
But some excellent batting by Steve Smith, Alex Carey, and even Travis Head at the top of the order, Australia ensured that they managed to reach 264 by the end of their innings. Looking at the history of the ground, India won’t be too happy with the way they bowled in the death overs — 40 to 50. They ended up conceding 57 runs for 4 wickets, and let the Aussies go past massive 260 when they were 213/6 at one stage.
| Rank | Team | Target | Score | Overs | RPO | Opposition | Date | Result |
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 285 | 287/8 | 49.4 | 5.77 | vs Pakistan | 20 Dec 2013 | Won |
| 2 | Pakistan | 275 | 275/9 | 49.5 | 5.51 | vs South Africa | 5 Nov 2010 | Won |
| 3 | Namibia | 266 | 266/5 | 47.3 | 5.6 | vs Oman | 14 Mar 2022 | Won |
| 4 | Pakistan | 247 | 250/7 | 49.3 | 5.05 | vs New Zealand | 8 Dec 2014 | Won |
| 5 | England | 238 | 241/6 | 49.2 | 4.88 | vs Pakistan | 21 Feb 2012 | Won |
| 6 | India | 238 | 238/1 | 39.3 | 6.02 | vs Pakistan | 23 Sep 2018 | Won |
| 7 | India | 229 | 231/4 | 46.3 | 4.96 | vs Bangladesh | 20 Feb 2025 | Won |
| 8 | Scotland | 226 | 226/8 | 49.5 | 4.53 | vs Oman | 15 Apr 2022 | Won |
| 9 | Oman | 225 | 227/3 | 44.1 | 5.13 | vs PNG | 12 Apr 2022 | Won |
| 10 | England | 223 | 226/1 | 37.2 | 6.05 | vs Pakistan | 18 Feb 2012 | Won |
Successful Run Chases in Dubai International Stadium
Why do we say so? Simply because India has never chased well in Dubai. Their highest successful chase in Dubai has been 238 vs England in 2018. While the highest on the ground ever has been 285 by Sri Lanka, against Pakistan in 2013. In fact, scores in excess of 250 have only been chased down thrice on the Dubai Cricket Ground.
India vs Australia, Champions Trophy semis
What makes matters worse for India is, in the first match, after setting a target of 250 to New Zealand a couple of days back, the Kiwis struggled to score runs. Now, a lot would depend on how the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill fare at the chase, while huge contributions will also be needed from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.
As far as the Indian bowling is concerned, Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 3/48. Hardik Pandya was expensive with 1/40 in 5.3 overs, while Varun Chakravarthy came up with 2/49 in his spell.
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