2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their 2025 Champions Trophy match vs Australia ft. Varun Chakaravarthy in the powerplay

A packed crowd at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium watched on with glee as India beat Australia by four wickets on Tuesday, March 4. With the victory, the Men in Blue booked their spot in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy, to be played at the same venue on Sunday.

India have been on a roll in the 50-over format and were ahead of the contest for a large portion. It was a fairly complete performance from Rohit Sharma and his men, with most players making valuable contributions and doing their roles to near-perfection.

At the same time, however, it was a slightly tense encounter at times, with the Aussies fighting hard despite being without their first-choice pace attack. On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in their Champions Trophy clash against Australia.

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#3 Mistake - Virat Kohli nearly put India under pressure towards the end of the chase

India v Australia: Semi Final - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

In the 43rd over, KL Rahul smashed Adam Zampa down the ground for a big maximum to calm Indian nerves. Almost immediately after that, though, Virat Kohli tried a big hit of his own and found long-on to perfection.

It was an unexpectedly rash shot from Kohli, who was batting on 84. Rahul's six brought the required run rate to fairly easy territory, and given that he was the one taking risks, there was no need for Kohli to go after the bowling himself.

In a crunch game like the semifinal, Kohli was expected to steer the ship home without any hiccups. But his poor shot selection put India under a bit of pressure, although it must be said that the following batters stood up to the challenge.

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#2 Masterstroke - Kohli and Shreyas Iyer paced the third-wicket partnership perfectly

India v Australia: Semi Final - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Kohli deserves a great deal of praise and only a tiny bit of criticism. The 36-year-old paced the chase to perfection until his untimely dismissal in a vintage effort that displayed just how good he is in the second innings of an ODI match.

Along with Shreyas Iyer, who played a calm innings after India lost two wickets inside the first eight overs, Kohli milked the Australian spinners for singles and didn't give them a way into the contest post the powerplay. The duo found the boundary when they could and ensured that the scoreboard moved along despite the openers falling.

It would've been easy for India to panic and give Australia a foothold. However, Kohli and Shreyas expertly managed the chase to put the Men in Blue in pole position.

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#1 Mistake - Rohit Sharma took too long to bring on Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand v India - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Travis Head made just 39 runs this time, but while he was at the crease, India weren't comfortable. The opening batter survived a couple of close shaves before adjusting to the pace of the wicket and cutting loose with five fours and a couple of sixes.

As Head got into his knock, Rohit wasn't proactive enough to bring on the dangerous Varun Chakaravarthy. The Indian skipper even threw the ball to Kuldeep Yadav, but didn't bring on the man who took a five-fer in the previous game against New Zealand.

Head tried to attack Varun off the first ball he faced and perished, caught in the deep. Rohit took too long to exploit that matchup, giving Australia some much-needed momentum in the powerplay.