DUBAI: Australia captain Steve Smith says his team are confident they can counter India’s quality spin attack in their ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.The two teams will face off at the Dubai International Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final won by Australia in Ahmedabad.

Australia beat rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain in the Pakistani cities of Rawalpindi and Lahore.

India made it three wins from three in Group ‘A’ with a victory over New Zealand on Sunday delivered by their four spinners on a tricky pitch.

Varun Chakravarthy took 5-42 in Dubai in only his second ODI to boost his hopes of selection.

“Yeah, I mean, not just Chakravarthy, I think the rest of their spin is quality as well,” Smith told reporters on Monday.

“So I think for us, the game is probably won and lost how we play their spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge...

“I think there’s going to be some spin, by the looks of it. Yeah, we’ve got to counter that... We’ve got a few options of ways we can go about it.”

The world champions are missing several key players including fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to injuries.

But Smith said they could call upon part-time spinners, including Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to support leg-spinner Adam Zampa and occasional off-spinner Glenn Maxwell on a track he believes “looks a dry surface”.

“We’ve got a lot of part-time options that could certainly play a role on here and a couple of front-liners as well,” he said.

Cooper Connolly, a batting all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin, has joined the squad as a replacement for Matthew Short, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to a thigh injury.

But Smith played down any perceived disadvantage.

Both Australia and Group ‘B’ winners South Africa flew to Dubai from Pakistan without knowing who they would play in the semi-finals, the line-up for which was decided after the India-New Zealand match.

India have been slammed for playing all their games at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE. India refused to play in host nation Pakistan due to political reasons.

“We guessed right in the end,” Smith said on his team travelling to Dubai.

“We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble, I suppose, in Pakistan with the security and stuff. It’s been nice to just have a couple of days chill here, a bit of training.”

Australia beat India by six wickets in the 2023 World Cup final, with Head hitting an unbeaten 137.

“I mean, there’s pressure every time you play in a big game,” said Smith of Head.

“But, as we know, Travis has stood up in many of those in the past. And, you know, he looked in great touch the other night against Afghanistan.

“I’m sure he’s going to be looking to come out here and play the same way he’s played for a long time, with good intent, good aggression.”

ZAMPA EYES BEST FORM

Zampa says he is below his best at the Champions Trophy but will still be ready to take big wickets in the semi-final.

The leg-spinner took 2-48 in the washed-out group match against Afghanistan and 2-64 in the five-wicket win over England in Lahore to help Australia reach the last four of the ODI tournament.

The veteran spinner may be key to Australia’s hopes of victory in Dubai, where India won their three group matches on spin-friendly wickets.

“Personally, I don’t think I’m bowling quite at my best but I like to think the beauty about me, when I’m not quite at my best and not feeling that great out there, is my ability to still contribute and take those big wickets,” Zampa said.

“So, yeah, [I am] obviously working on some stuff at the moment to hopefully get back to my best.

“But as I said, the ability to still do a job for the team and get those big wickets is still there, which to me is really important.”

INDIA BRACE FOR ‘NERVY’ TIMES

Skipper Rohit Sharma warned his India team on Monday to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final.

“Look, it [Australia] is a great opposition to play against,” Rohit told reporters in Dubai.

“All we have to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion.

“We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that.”

Australia are on paper a weaker team from the one that beat India by six wickets in the 2023 World Cup decider.

“Look, Australia have been such a great team over the years,” the Indian captain said. “So we will expect some fightbacks, we will expect some nervy times as well in the middle.

“But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about a semi-final.”

India went in with four spinners including two all-rounders in their last group match in Dubai and came up trumps with Chakravarthy.

Rohit said he will be tempted to keep the same combination against Australia.

“He just showed what he is capable of,” Rohit said of man-of-the-match Chakr­avarthy, a wrist spinner with many variations up his sleeve.

“Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right.

He did everything that was asked for... it is a good headache to have.”

India have been slammed for playing all their matches at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.

Rohit dismissed the notion it gives India an advantage.

“Even for us it is a little bit of a question mark as to which pitch is being played,” said Rohit.

“Because there are four or five surfaces that are being used here. I don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-finals.“But whatever happens we will have to adapt and see what is happening and what is not. And this is not our home, this is Dubai.”

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2025