ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Semi-Finals: India to Face Australia or South Africa

Image credits: AP

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has reached its semi-final stage, with India, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa confirmed as the four semi-finalists. The semi-final fixtures will be determined by the outcome of India's final Group A match against New Zealand on Sunday. If India win and top the group, they will face Australia, the second-best team in Group B, with New Zealand taking on South Africa, who have topped Group B. However, if New Zealand win and top Group A, they will face Australia, with India taking on South Africa instead.

South Africa topped Group B after beating England in their final league game in Karachi, finishing ahead of Australia with five points in three matches. The Proteas will travel to the UAE on Saturday, along with Australia, but one of them will return to Pakistan, while the other will stay in Dubai to face India on Tuesday. The scheduling of the tournament has been designed to allow the team playing the semi-final in Dubai on March 4 the maximum time to prepare for the contest. The semi-final match-ups and venues will be confirmed after the India vs New Zealand final Group A game on Sunday.

The possible permutations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals are as follows:

• India win and top Group A: India vs Australia, New Zealand vs South Africa
• New Zealand win and top Group A: New Zealand vs Australia, India vs South Africa

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has said that it wouldn’t matter to a team like India who they face in the upcoming semi-finals, and the team will only focus on their form going into the big clash. Uthappa added that any team which is confident and in form would never think about who they are going to face or the pitches they are going to play on.

India will play their last group stage game in the Champions Trophy on Sunday, March 2, against New Zealand in Dubai. The team had beaten the Kiwis in the league stage as well as in the semi-finals in the ODI World Cup. Former India opener Lalchand Rajput said that for a coach, there is nothing called an inconsequential game, as you want your team to win every match and want to play your best players unless there is an injury or workload management. The tournament has reached its business end, and the teams are gearing up for the semi-finals.

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