Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's win vs Australia in 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal ft. Nasser Hussain

India secured a clinical victory over Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Tuesday (March 4) in Dubai. As a result, the side made it to their third consecutive final in the showpiece event, which drew reactions from cricket experts all around the world.

Batting first, Australia managed to find crucial contributions from Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61), which helped them post a 264-run total. Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers for India with three scalps.

In response, India were in a spot of bother at 43/2 but Virat Kohli (84) and Shreyas Iyer (45) resurrected the team's innings. Thereafter, KL Rahul (42*) was the chief contributor to take India over the line with 11 balls to spare. Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa bagged two wickets each for Australia.

On that note, let's take a look at the top expert reactions on India qualifying for the Champions Trophy final.

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#1 Mohammad Hafeez

Former Pakistan batter Mohammad Hafeez shares his thoughts on India's victory on PTV Sports. Hafeez feels India have got a credible group of players, who have a team-first mindset, which has helped the side to achieve consistent success. He said:

"In order to build team culture, an individual has to raise their hand. Rather than thinking about himself, the person needs to work towards the team's welfare. All the Indian players have defined their roles in a way that can help the team win the game. Their roles are refined, they know what they have to do, evolve themselves accordingly and their skills have enhanced with time." (16:35 onwards)

Hafeez lauded KL Rahul's reliability and flexibility to contribute at any batting position while also noting Hardik Pandya's batting skills, adding:

"KL Rahul came at No. 5 and knows that he can't play a bad shot in the rush of blood. Most of the time, he wins matches for India batting at No.5 or 6. Hardik Pandya is batting at No. 6, he has polished his skills so well. He has the ability to play big shots and can take rotate the strike as well."

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#2 Nasser Hussain

During an interaction on Sky Sports, former England skipper Nasser Hussain labeled Virat Kohli the finest chaser in cricket history. He also pointed out that India have their bases covered, with the presence of spin all-rounders and players like KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya. He said:

"It was a pretty clinical run chase. They have got the best chaser in the history of the game in Virat Kohli. Around Kohli, they have so much talent all the way through like the spin all-rounders and the guys at the top go hard in the powerplay. Wicket-keeping batter in KL Rahul, they have got a magnificent all-rounder in Pandya." (0:55 onwards)

Hussain also noted that despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami has proved his merit in the death overs. He added:

"Make no mistake. There's hardly weaknesses in this Indian side, especially in these conditions. They may be missing Bumrah, but Shami steps up. They are the best side in the competition, have an excellent captain and got all their bases covered." (3:26 onwards)

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#3 Harbhajan Singh

Former spinner Harbhajan Singh lauded the Indian team's dominant performance against Australia. He thinks Virat Kohli's ability to rotate the strike is a great lesson for budding cricketers. The 'Turbanator' said on his YouTube channel:

"This game showed India's firepower. They dominated in every aspect of the game. Virat Kohli is something special. He has improved his performances as the tournament has progressed and it felt like he wanted to be there to win the game."

"He gave importance to singles, doubles and his knock is a lesson for the young batters. The partnership between Iyer and Virat certainly eliminated Australia from the contest," he added.

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#4 Wasim Akram

While congratulating India on the win, the legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram highlighted an interesting answer by Rohit Sharma when he was asked whether he was impressed by his bowlers' performances in the post-match presentation.

Akram agreed with Rohit, who underlined the need for six bowlers in the ODI setup. As per the former pacer, modern-day cricket requires the teams to have sufficient bowling options to succeed in the 50-over format.

Here's what Akram said on Ten Sports' post-match show:

“Congratulations to Team India and fans. Congratulations, you are in the final once again… Rohit said he always wanted a sixth bowler in ODIs. This is the learning curve for all teams.

"When you pick the squad, there has to be a cricketer who gives the captain at least five-and-half bowling options. Five regular bowlers and a sixth bowler who can bowl a few overs in case someone is having a bad day. You can’t play ODI cricket in this era with four bowlers and two part-timers." (11:03 onwards)

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#5 Shoaib Akhtar

One of the fastest pacers to grace the cricket field, Shoaib Akhtar feels none of the teams have been competitive enough against India, who have utilized their spin attack in an efficient manner. Although Akhtar praised Virat Kohli for his terrific knock, he feels the right-hander should have completed his century.

Here's what he said on his YouTube channel:

"India played quite well and showed that they can put the opposition under pressure with four spinners. The best thing was Virat Kohli made the match for India. The worst thing was that he did not complete his century. He should have done that."

"India was the dominating side with the bat and ball, and the partnership between Virat and Iyer was crucial. If Rohit Sharma would've fired, the match would have been completed in 35 overs," he added.