IND vs AUS Semi-Final: Why Team India Wearing Black Armbands in Champions Trophy 2025 Clash Against Australia?

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IND vs AUS Semi-Final: India, led by Rohit Sharma, are taking on Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal at the Dubai International Stadium. The Indian team are wearing black armbands as a tribute to the late Padmakar Shivalkar.

Australia's skipper, Steve Smith, won the toss and chose to bat first. India has retained their playing XI, while Australia has made one change, bringing in Tanveer Sangha in place of Spencer Johnson.

Padmakar Shivalkar, regarded as one of the finest spinners never to have represented India, had a remarkable domestic career. He played 124 First-Class matches, picking up 589 wickets at an impressive average of 19.69 between 1961-62 and 1987-88.

Making his debut in the Ranji Trophy at 22, he continued playing until the age of 48, taking 361 wickets in India's premier domestic tournament, including eleven 10-wicket hauls. Additionally, he featured in 12 List A games, claiming 16 wickets. In recognition of his contributions to Indian cricket, he was honored with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

As far as the game is concerned, Australia started the game on a slow note, struggling to hit the bat. The Men in Blue's relentless pressure paid after Mohammed Shami got the wicket of Cooper Connolly to get the breakthrough. At the time of writing this article, the Aussies are batting at 53/1 after 8 overs of play, with Travis Head leading the fightback for the defending ODI World Cup champs. Steve Smith, the captain took the crease after the early dismissal.

IND vs AUS- Playing XIs

Australia (Playing XI): Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.