DUBAI (Kashmir English): India will clash with Australia in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy here on Tuesday after they beat New Zealand by 44 runs in the final group-stage fixture at the same venue on Sunday.
In the second semifinal, New Zealand will face South Africa at Ghaddafi Stadium Lahore on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, South Africa, who had also shifted to Dubai ahead of the knockouts, will now travel to Lahore to meet South Africa in the second semi-final.
Tangled scheduling of Champions Trophy
Due to tangled scheduling, both South Africa and Australia had flown to Dubai, with an ICC saying the decision had been taken to allow the side that plays the semi-final in Dubai (Australia in this case) on March 4 the maximum time to prepare for that game.
The tangled scheduling was a result of India refusing to play any of their games in Pakistan at least for the tournament and they were supposed to play the semi-final in Dubai, regardless of their standings in Group A.
Such a scenario became all but inevitable after India refused to travel to Pakistan, despite the country officially being the sole host of the tournament.
The PCB had spent several months trying to convince India to visit Pakistan with a proposal, at one stage, hosting all their games in Lahore. However, the BCCI said the Indian government did not grant the team permission to play cricket in Pakistan.
New Zealand will take an early-morning flight to Lahore from Dubai today (Monday) while South Africa will fly back to Pakistan later in the day after having spent around 36 hours in Dubai.
India are the only team with three wins in as many games in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
