"Unbelievable camaraderie": Suryakumar Yadav hails Team India following win in CT semifinals
Mar 04, 2025
Dubai [UAE], March 5 : Following India's win over Australia in the semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy, Men in Blue's T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav hailed the team for their "unbelievable camaraderie" and wished them luck for the title clash.
Virat's chase masterclass once again grabbed the spotlight as his perfectly-calculated knock of 84 runs guided India to a four-wicket win over Australia, lifting them from 43/2 to a successful run chase of 265 runs, which was proving to be tricky initially. Once again, the 36-year-old made a tough run-chase look like a cakewalk and re-wrote several records in the process.
While speaking exclusively to ANI, Suryakumar said, "It is a complete team effort. Unbelievable camaraderie. Trust is seen clearly in each other on the ground. I wish the team all the luck for the finals."
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. After an early wicket of Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (39 in 33 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) had a 50-run stand with Steve Smith. Smith carried on, with half-century stands against Marnus Labuschagne (29 in 36 balls, with two fours and a six) and Alex Carey (61 in 57 balls, with eight fours and a six). Carey was there till 48th over, untill a fine direct hit from Shreyas Iyer ended his knock.
Australia was skittled out for 264 in 49.3 overs.
Shami (3/48) was the top bowler for India, while Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/40) also unleashed a spin web. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took a wicket each.
During the run chase, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma (28 in 29 balls, with three fours and a six) and Shubman Gill (8) early and were reduced to 43/2. From then on, a 91-run partnership between Virat and Shreyas Iyer (45 in 62 balls, with three fours) brought India back into the game. Virat also had a brief 44-run stand with Axar Patel (27 in 30 balls, with a four and six) and a 47-run stand with KL Rahul (42* in 34 balls, with two fours and two sixes).
Hardik delivered a brief and fiery cameo, scoring 28 in 24 balls, with a four and three sixes, helping India seal a win. India finished at 267/6 in 48.1 overs.
Nathan Ellis (2/48) and Adam Zampa (2/60) were the top bowlers for Australia.
