ODI champions Australia were eliminated by India in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy on Tuesday in Dubai, as an inexperinced Australian bowling attack failed to contain the Indian batters who took their team into the final with a four-wicket win.
After the match, Australia skipper Steve Smith acknowledged that his players would gain valuable experience from the campaign.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Australia competed without their primary pace attack during the tournament, as injuries kept Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood out, while Mitchell Starc was absent because of personal matters.
The ODI champions were unable to protect their modest total of 264.
"I think we've got pretty good records in big games in ICC events and I thought the guys turned up and did a really good job," Smith told reporters after Australia's exit.
"It's obviously a bit of inexperience in our team, particularly our bowling attack. Some new guys there who I thought did a really good job as well...They're going to be better for the exposure to a big event and playing against world-class players like the ones we came up against today and throughout the tournament. So, plenty of positives to take from it."
The team saw Cooper Connolly step in for the injured Matthew Short, and spinner Tanveer Sangha was selected for only his fourth ODI match.
India's victory, powered by Virat Kohli's 84 and KL Rahul's unbeaten 42, served as retribution for their 2023 World Cup final defeat in Ahmedabad.
India are set to play either South Africa or New Zealand in Sunday's final in Dubai. Rohit Sharma's side has played all their matches at this venue after declining to travel to Pakistan for the eight-nation tournament.
Had India not qualified, Lahore would have hosted the final instead.
"The surface kind of suits their style with the spinners that they've got and the seamers that they have at their disposal for a wicket like that. They played well, they outplayed us and they deserve the victory," said smith.
"I think we had our opportunities throughout to post something up above 300.
"We were probably just that one wicket down too many at a few stages throughout the innings. If we extended one of those partnerships a little bit we're probably getting up 290-300 and we're putting a bit of pressure on the scoreboard," the Australia captain concluded.
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