Semi-final match: India will face Australia, New Zealand will face South Africa

India will compete against Australia in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday. India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to secure their place in the last four. New Zealand, on the other hand, will compete against South Africa in the second semi-final in Lahore on Wednesday.

Australia and South Africa have already reached Dubai due to the tournament scheduling decisions. An ICC official said that the decision was taken to give maximum time for preparation to the team (Australia) playing the semi-final in Dubai on March 4. However, this caused inconvenience to the South African team, as they would have to return to Pakistan from Dubai.

New Zealand will fly from Dubai to Lahore on Monday, while South Africa will return to Pakistan after spending about 36 hours in Dubai. “We will leave Dubai at 12.30 or 1 pm. We will get there and rest, train and be fully prepared,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma seemed satisfied with the team’s performance. India was the only team to win all its matches in the group stage of the Champions Trophy. After the victory against New Zealand, Rohit said, “It is very important to maintain momentum in such a short tournament. We are trying to win every match and correcting the mistakes quickly is the key to success.”

Regarding the semi-final against Australia, he said, “It will be a big match. We know that Australia has a great record in ICC tournaments. This is an opportunity for us to implement our strategy properly. We are looking forward to this match and hope that we will be able to register another win.”