ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Semi-Final: Ravindra Jadeja Dismisses Marnus Labuschagne

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The ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final between India and Australia is proving to be a thrilling encounter, with neither team willing to give an inch. An incident involving Ravindra Jadeja and Marnus Labuschagne left Australia skipper Steve Smith miffed at the Dubai International Stadium. He let his feelings known to the on-field officials Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth. On the second ball of the 21st over, Smith was not impressed with Jadeja holding Labuschagne. Smith punched the ball towards Labuschagne, and India's premier spinner then stuck his right foot out.

The replays also indicated that the ball might have hit Labuschagne's bat. The ball eventually ricocheted to mid-wicket fielder Rohit Sharma. The replays further showed that Jadeja was holding Labuschagne and not allowing him to get away for a single. Smith was not impressed with how the Indian spinner stopped Australia's No.4 in his tracks. An over later, Jadeja dismissed Marnus Labuschagne for 29 as India got their third wicket. The left-arm spinner got the ball to drift towards the leg stump, and the delivery skidded on after pitching. The Australian batter rocked back on his backfoot to nudge the delivery ahead, however, he ended up missing the line, and as a result, he was rapped on the pads, and the umpire, Illingworth, had no hesitation in raising his finger.

Labuschagne had a small chat with Smith; however, he opted to walk back and not take a review. This is the fourth time that Jadeja dismissed Labuschagne in ODIs. The batter has faced 180 balls against Jadeja, scoring 120 runs and losing his wicket on four occasions. The stats between the two players are interesting, with Labuschagne having a strike-rate of 66.66 against Jadeja in ODIs. Jadeja has conceded 8 fours to Labuschagne, but the latter hasn't collected a maximum in this regard. The Indian all-rounder has now dismissed Labuschagne as many as four times in ODI cricket, and a total of nine times across 24 innings across formats.

The match is being closely watched, with the Indian team wearing black armbands in memory of late Padmakar Shivalkar, who passed away on Monday. Padmakar Shivalkar was one of the stalwarts in Mumbai cricket and represented the state for 20 years. The Indian team's playing XI remained unchanged from their previous match against New Zealand, while Australia made two changes to their playing XI, bringing in Tanveer Sangha and Cooper Connolly. The Champions Trophy 2025 has been an exciting tournament so far, with several close matches and thrilling encounters. The semi-final between India and Australia is turning out to be one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, with both teams giving it their all.

Here are the match details:

• India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
• Australia: Steven Smith (c), Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

The tournament has seen some exceptional performances from players, and the semi-final between India and Australia is no exception. With the stakes high, both teams are fighting hard to make it to the final. The match is being streamed live on various platforms, and fans can catch all the action and updates on their favorite sports websites and apps.

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