DUBAI, March 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Australia skipper Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat against India in the first semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Tuesday.

The winner faces South Africa or New Zealand in Sunday's final of the eight- nation 50-over tournament.

Australia made two changes with batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly and leg- spinner Tanveer Sangha coming in for Matthew Short and Spencer Johnson.

Connolly, who bowls left-arm spin, joined the squad as a replacement for Short, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a thigh injury.

Australia won their opening match of the competition against Ashes rivals England but their next two games in the group phase were abandoned due to rain.

Rohit Sharma-led India are unchanged from their win over New Zealand in their last group match and have four spinners in the XI.

India have won all three of their games and are playing in Dubai after they refused to tour Champions Trophy hosts Pakistan for political reasons.

The semi-final is the first ODI between India and Australia since the World Cup final in November 2023 in Ahmedabad. Australia won.

The other semi-final is in Lahore on Wednesday.

Teams

Australia: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha.

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Richard Illingworth (ENG)

TV Umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)

Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (RSA)