The highest awaited first semifinal between India and Australia is to get underway on Tuesday in this ongoing ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium, UAE.
India, with captain Rohit Sharma, continued their unbeaten run in the tournament by beating New Zealand. However, Australia comes into the semifinals as the second-best team from group B after two washouts, following their clinical win over arch-rivals England.
As two very competitive teams prepare for the semifinal, it’s time to see how the pitch at Dubai International Cricket Stadium will behave throughout the match.
Stats at the venue:
| Criterion | Data |
|---|---|
| Matches Played | 61 |
| Matches Won Batting 1st | 23 |
| Matches Won Bowling 1st | 36 |
| Average 1st Innings Score | 219 |
| Average 2nd Innings Score | 193 |
This suggests that teams have been more successful while **chasing (winning 36 times)** compared to **setting a target (winning 23 times)**. The average first-innings score is also higher than the second-innings score, which could indicate some impact of pitch conditions or pressure while chasing.
Read Also: IND vs AUS Head to Head record in Champions Trophy
Pitch Report for India vs AUS semi finals:
This wicket at Dubai International Cricket Stadium doesn’t give the new-ball bowlers any genuine seam movement across both innings. So, the pacers may use their skill of swinging the ball in the air instead of hitting the seam and trying to generate movement.
The batters will find themselves mostly enjoying their innings when the ball is new and hard. However, with the passage of time, the older ball will do substantially more against the spinners, creating hassles for the batters in this dry pitch.
Thus, it is critical for the batters to be very selective in their shots according to the field. Pacers capable of rolling the fingers over the ball and bowling those cutters and slow balls may be useful on this ground.
The pitch doesn’t seem to change a lot across both innings. The balancing act between bat and ball should see spinners take center stage. Since it is a highly stressful knockout match, the toss-winning side might decide to bat unless the pitch has leftover grass to lessen the chances of deterioration.
