Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has suggested India to pick Australia as their opponent for Champions Trophy semi-finals. Although the four teams for the knockout stages have been decided, the result of IND vs NZ on Sunday will determine whom Rohit Sharma and co. will face on March 4. Despite the Men in Blue suffering a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup 2023, DK wants India to go after Steve Smith and co. in the semis.
“I would go for Australia”
In a Q&A session on Cricbuzz, Karthik opined that India was playing very well in the ongoing Champions Trophy. And like he said, Rohit Sharma and co. have kept their winning streak intact in the current edition of the tournament. They beat Bangladesh and Pakistan by 6 wickets in their previous two contests.
“India is actually playing well, but if given a preference I would go for Australia,” Dinesh Karthik said.
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How India can decide their semifinal opponent
As per the ICC Champions Trophy format, the table topper from Group A will face the second team that qualified from Group B and vice versa, i.e., A1 will play B2, and B1 will play A2. Since Team India will only play in Dubai, we also know they will be the ones to play in the first semifinal on March 4.
This means that the India vs. New Zealand won’t be a dead rubber. Because depending on victory or defeat, Rohit Sharma and co. will either face South Africa or Australia in the semifinal, the two teams that have made it from Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy. If Team India beats New Zealand in the last group stage fixture, they’ll finish as table topper (A1) and face Australia (B2). and if they lose, they’ll finish second (A2) and face South Africa (3).
