Dubai: After suffering a four-wicket loss against India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Australia captain Steve Smith feels that if they had scored a target of more than 280 then the outcome would have been different.
Riding on Virat Kohli’s 84, KL Rahul (42 not out) and Hardik Pandya (28 off 24 balls) gave the finishing touches to India’s chase of 265 to progress to the final of the eight-team competition.
Opting to bat first, Smith smashed 73 runs while Marnus Labuschagne contributed 61 as Indian bowlers bundled out Australia for 264/10 in 49.3 overs. Mohammed Shami bagged three scalps while Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakaravarthy claimed two wickets each.
“I thought the bowlers did a really good job, they worked hard throughout, the spinners squeezed and took the game deep. It was a tricky wicket to start on batting, tough to rotate the strike, everyone did a really good job tonight. It played pretty similar throughout. Little bit of hold for the spinners, little bit of spin and a bit of skid. For the pacers, it was two-paced. We probably could have got a few more on. We lost a couple of wickets at crucial times,” Smith said in the post-match presentation.
“If we got 280+, things would have been different. Felt like we were one wicket too many down at each stage of the game. The way we’ve come together. The bowling unit did a wonderful job, some of the batters stood up. We played exceptionally well against England. Some really good cricketers, they are going to get bigger and better,” he added.
Australia will be leaving with their head held high as they entered the tournament with a heavily depleted bowling attack with their fast bowling trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all missing out on injuries. Despite the inexperienced bowling, they took the Indian side till the end with stand-in captain Smith experimenting with new ways in hopes of pulling the game back but perhaps Kohli’s dismissal came a tad bit too late.
India will now take on the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand in the final in Dubai on March 9.
(IANS)
