'Not Just Chakravarthy, The Rest...': Steve Smith Says India Semi-Final In CT 2025 Will Be Decided On Spin
Australia's Steve Smith is wary of India's spin attack before the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final, highlighting the challenge of facing spinners like Varun Chakaravarthy.
Australia captain Steve Smith is wary of India’s entire spin attack, not just the in-form Varun Chakaravarthy, ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final between the two teams on Tuesday. Smith, while speaking in a press conference on the eve of the match, admitted that Australia’s prospects in the game would be decided on how well they play the spinners and their execution of the ‘few options’ they have against them.
Chakarvarthy is coming off a five-wicket haul against New Zealand on Sunday, which was also his debut in the Champions Trophy. Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel took one each. India have preferred spin-heavy lineups in the absence of their world-class pace leader, Jasprit Bumrah, and also due to the slow and turning pitches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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“I think not just Chakravarthy, I think the rest of their spin has quality as well," Smith said, as quoted by PTI. “So I think for us, the game is probably how we play their spin. Yeah, it’s going to be a challenge. I think there’s going to be some spin and yeah, we’ve got to counter that. We’ll see how we do that tomorrow. We’ve got a few options on how we can go about it," he added.
Meanwhile, the Aussies, playing all their matches in Pakistan, have stuck with the opposite tactic. In their last match against Afghanistan (which was washed out midway through due to rain), they played just one frontline spinner in Adam Zampa.
Speaking about that, Smith listed the part-time options in the team, saying though Matthew Short is out with injury, his replacement Cooper Connolly can also bowl well.
“We do have plenty of options there. We’ve got Maxwell. Short’s obviously out now. It was a bit of a loss. He’s been bowling quite nicely, bowled really well last game… We have Cooper Connolly as well, if we go down that path. We’ve got a lot of part-time options that could certainly play a role here and a couple of front-liners as well," said Smith.
Apart from these, Australia also have 23-year-old leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha on the roster for an extra option in Dubai.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
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