Andy Schooler has tipped five winners from eight bets so far at the Champions Trophy 2025; check out his verdict on Tuesday’s semi-final between India and Australia.
Huge Champions Trophy 2025 Semi-Final: India v Australia Tips
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE
Date/Time: Tuesday March 4, 0900 GMT
TV: Sky Sports Cricket
Champions Trophy 2025: Advantage India
We’re down to the knockout stage of the Champions Trophy – and this is probably the point at which India’s advantage is going to be fully on display. A reminder that having refused to travel to the host nation, Pakistan, they’ve been allowed to play all of their matches in Dubai. They won all three in the group stage and, it’s fair to say, are fully bedded into their home-from-home.
In contrast, Australia have travelled to the UAE having played all of their games so far in Pakistan where the pitches have been much more batter friendly. Travis Head’s comment following their last group match hit the nail on the head. “(Dubai) looks like it’s a little bit more difficult or more challenging pitch than is here (in Lahore). It’s a little bit more low-scoring.”
Champions Trophy 2025: Angles In
For the record, Lahore produced opening scores of 351, 325 and 273. No-one has gone past 249 in Dubai. Australia’s batters were certainly able to make hay in Lahore – they chased down a 352 target to beat England there and were dominating Afghanistan’s bowling attack when rain arrived to force a no-result.
If they can have the same impact here, the Aussies could well land odds of 2.3, but it’s asking a lot to quickly get to grips with the change of conditions, especially when their opponents have had no such issues to deal with. India looked ominous against New Zealand on Sunday. Having appeared vulnerable in ‘only’ making 249, their spinners took a real stranglehold during the reply and they ended up winning with something to spare.
Varun Chakravarthy took five wickets after being picked as an extra spinner at the expense of paceman Harshit Rana and while a decision will be pitch-dependent, it would be no surprise for India to stick with the same XI. It’s that spin threat which Australia will be most concerned about and while they spent Sunday facing a whole host of local spin bowlers in the nets, that lack of time to adapt is a worry, especially given the level of opposition.
Champions Trophy 2025: Mighty Maxwell
So, instead of taking a chance on the underdogs, I’m heading to the sub-markets for a couple of bets. First, I want to get with Glenn Maxwell. He should have big part to play with the ball as Australia’s second spinner and has taken a wicket in each of Australia’s two games so far (the other was a total washout).
There are also few better players of spin in the world and while he’ll likely be down to bat at seven, there’s every chance he’s something of a ‘floater’ in the order given his talent in that department, especially when you consider his three previous ODIs on this ground have resulted in scores of 70, 98 and 76. All things considered, I’m happy to take the overs in Maxwell’s player performance market – that’s 20 points for a wicket, 10 for a catch, 1 for a run. He got to 52 against England in Australia’s only completed match and can go beyond 38.5 here.
Secondly, take the unders on India’s opening partnership – the line is set at 31.5. This has landed in two of India’s three games so far with Rohit Sharma not at his best. Australia took early wickets in both of their group matches (the first wicket fell at 3 and 13), while it’s also worth noting that the Dubai games also saw India’s opponents struggle for an opening partnership, the fall of their first wicket being 17, 41 and 1. New-ball bowler Ben Dwarshuis has shown his wicket-taking ability with six so far, putting him in the top tournament bowler mix, and he can help the Aussies strike early in this one.
Champions Trophy 2025: India v Australia Best Bets
Glenn Maxwell player performance over 38.5 @ 1.85 with kwiff
India total at 1st dismissal under 31.5 @ 1.8 with kwiff
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