New Delhi: Steve Smith managed a lucky escape during the first semi-final of the ongoing Champions Trophy between India and Australia as the Aussie batter survived despite the ball hitting the stump. Axar Patel’s ball beat Smith and hit his stump but the batter was not dismissed as the bails didn’t come off. It was a close reprieve for the Aussie star.
Australia got off to a sluggish start in the semi-final after winning the toss and opting to bat first in the game as they lost opener Copper Connolly on a duck in the 3rd over. Travis Head looked in good touch once again and managed to get off to a good start but was sent packing on 39 by Varun Chakaravarthy, reducing Australia to 54/2 in the 9th over.
Australia could have been three down in the 14th over but the stubborn bails came to Smith’s rescue, helping him avoid a close dismissal. The incident took place on the final ball of the 14th over when the delivery from Axar took a thick edge of Smith’s pad and the ball rolled towards the off-stump. The ball hit the stump but the bails remained intact as Smith got lucky.
Watch Steve Smith survives as bails refuse to fall off:
Ball hits the stumps but damn Those Zing bails are heavy ✊
Smithy 😳 #championstrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/RrupcVuqCl— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) March 4, 2025
Smith’s day? Ball hit the stumps but bails didn’t come off. pic.twitter.com/gTLbYgiIL9
— Cricketologist (@AMP86793444) March 4, 2025
On the previous delivery of the over, Smith had survived after India missed a close run-out chance. The Australian batter flicked one towards short leg and was trying to steal a quick single but his batting partner Marnus Labuschagne was not ready on the other end, leading to trouble for Smith. However, he managed to get back to the crease in time to avoid getting out.
Ravindra Jadeja provides India two crucial breakthroughs
Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership between Smith and Labuschagne to provide India with a crucial breakthrough in the 23rd over. He trapped Labuschagne lbw on 29 off 36 balls to hand India their 3rd wicket in the game. Jadeja didn’t stop there as he also got rid of Josh Inglis cheaply on 11 off 12 balls to leave India reeling at 144/4 in the 27th over.
India will be looking to bundle out Australia as cheaply as possible to ensure the batters don’t have a challenging total to chase. India had successfully defended 249 runs in their final league game against New Zealand to beat them by 44 runs and enter the semi-final.
Australia batter Steve Smith survived after a delivery from India all-rounder Axar Patel hit his stumps but the bails refused to come off during the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final in Dubai. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
