Pacer Mohammed Shami gave India their first breakthrough by dismissing Cooper Connolly in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia on Tuesday, March 4. The match is being played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The dismissal came on the final ball of the third over of Australia's innings. Shami had bowled beautifully in the first five deliveries, with the Australian opener swinging and missing. The Indian pacer was rewarded for his superb bowling on the last delivery of the over.
Shami bowled a length delivery outside off, and Connolly attempted to cut the ball but only managed an under-edge, with keeper KL Rahul taking a fine catch behind the stumps. However, the umpire did not initially raise his finger, prompting the Men in Blue to opt for a review. The UltraEdge confirmed a clear edge, leading the umpire to overturn his decision and declare Connolly out.
Here’s a video of the dismissal:
The Australian opener was dismissed for a duck off nine balls. Connolly's wicket left Australia reeling at 4/1 after three overs.
Mohammed Shami strikes for India while Travis Head gets off to a flying start in the IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final
Australian skipper Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat first. Mohammed Shami dropped Travis Head off his own bowling on the first legal delivery of the game. However, the 34-year-old claimed his first wicket in his second over, removing Cooper Connolly for a duck.
Meanwhile, Head began to find his rhythm in the fourth over, hitting Hardik Pandya for a four and a six. He then followed it up with three consecutive boundaries off Shami in the next over. At the time of writing, Australia were 36/1 after six overs, with Head (28) and Smith (3) at the crease.
Playing XI of both teams:
Australia: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, and Tanveer Sangha.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025, ICC Champions Trophy India Schedule, India Squad ICC Champions Trophy, ICC Champions Trophy Schedule