The first semi-final of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 is set to take place between India and Australia at the Dubai International Stadium this Tuesday. Ahead of this highly anticipated match, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has made a bold call, declaring Rohit Sharma's team as the clear frontrunner.

India secured the top spot in Group A after clinching a victory against New Zealand in their last group-stage game on Sunday. Meanwhile, Australia finished in second place in Group B. Gavaskar pointed out that Australia will definitely feel the absence of their seasoned pace trio: Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins.

Throughout their three matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand, India has demonstrated that they have a well-rounded team, with their spinners really stepping up. Varun Chakaravarthy was brought in for the match against New Zealand and quickly justified his selection by taking five wickets in just his second ODI.

Australia has been plagued by injuries, with Matthew Short being the latest casualty. Cooper Connolly has been called up as his replacement. The two-time Champions Trophy winners do have Tanveer Sangha in their lineup, but it remains to be seen if he will play in the spin-friendly conditions of Dubai.

"On this pitch, yes, because Australia lacks a strong spinning attack, especially with key players like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc out," Gavaskar told India Today.

"Their batting lineup is solid and aggressive. Ideally, India should aim to chase rather than put Australia in that position," he added.

The Dubai pitch isn't that tough to bat on

New Zealand couldn't manage to chase down 250 runs against India, thanks to Varun Chakaravarthy's impressive performance, where he took five wickets. Ultimately, the Kiwis lost by 44 runs, and now the BlackCaps are set to face South Africa in the second semi-final.

Gavaskar mentioned that the Dubai pitch wasn't too tough for batting, noting that there was only a slight turn for the spinners.

"Not at all. If you look at our spinners in the early overs, they didn’t get much assistance. As the pitch improved a bit after the dew settled, the spinners found a little more grip, but it wasn’t an impossible surface," he explained.

"There was some turn. The bowlers just performed so well that it made things really tough for New Zealand," he added.

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