India head coach Gautam Gambhir could not curb his enthusiasm upon seeing Australia captain Steve Smith get bowled and walk back to the pavilion in the first semi-final of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium. Smith was single-handedly ensuring Australia posted a healthy total on the board; however, his wicket stopped the side well in its tracks.
As soon as Smith was bowled, the cameras panned to Gautam Gambhir, who was seen applauding the dismissal. He then used some cuss words, expressing his happiness with the wicket. The right-handed batter walked back after scoring 79.
Gautam was also seen clapping his hands to celebrate the wicket of the Australian captain. Smith was dismissed on the fourth ball of the 37th over.
Smith ended up missing a low full toss. The batter danced down the track and tried to make room to drive the delivery. However, he failed to connect, missing the ball, and his off-stump rattled.
Smith shook his head and was seen cursing himself, expressing disappointment with his dismissal, which brought India back into the game.
Australia bowled out for 264
Australia captain Steve Smith earlier won the toss and opted to bat first. The side could not play out the full quota of 50 overs as Steve Smith and co were bowled out for 264.
Smith played a knock of 79 runs while Alex Carey scored 61 runs. However, India kept chipping away at the wickets, ensuring Australia did not get away from their sights.
For India, Mohammed Shami took three wickets, while Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja scalped two wickets each.
After the innings ended, Jadeja said the pitch was slightly better than inthe previous match against New Zealand.
Speaking to the host broadcaster, Jadeja said, “The wicket is better than the last game, not much spin. We need to start well. If we play sensible cricket in the first 10 overs, then there won’t be any issues.”
“Smith and Labuschagne were batting nicely and I tried to attack the stumps. Luckily we were able to contain the runs and picked a few wickets as well,” he added