"This is not our home; this is Dubai," captain Rohit Sharma said on Monday, a response that ended the narrative that the Indian team has an "undeniable advantage" of playing all their Champions Trophy matches at one venue. And if that still wasn't enough, a report claimed that an unknown pitch awaits both India and Australia in the first semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Tuesday.
During their group-stage campaign, India played on three different pitches at the Dubai International Stadium. On Tuesday, they will be served with a completely different track, which hasn't been used before, reported Cricbuzz. The pitches for the first three games—against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand—have all been on the slower side, with much assistance for the spinners. Hence, the fresh track is unlikely to be any different.
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) prepared the wickets at the Dubai stadium, under the supervision of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Matthew Sandery, an Australian, is the curator of the pitches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the ICC Academy.
What did Rohit Sharma say on 'Dubai advantage' claim?
The 37-year-old denied India held any advantage and said surfaces at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium behaved differently.
"There are four or five surfaces that are being used and every surface has a different nature," Rohit said ahead of Tuesday's semi-final against Australia. "The pitches look the same, but when you play on it, it has played in a different way. So, you can't go thinking 'we played like this yesterday, and today we'll play like this'.
{{/usCountry}}"There are four or five surfaces that are being used and every surface has a different nature," Rohit said ahead of Tuesday's semi-final against Australia. "The pitches look the same, but when you play on it, it has played in a different way. So, you can't go thinking 'we played like this yesterday, and today we'll play like this'.
{{/usCountry}}"We don't know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-final. But whatever happens, we have to adapt and see what is happening. This is not our home, this is Dubai. We don't play so many matches here. This is new for us too."
India head into the game on an unbeaten note, having won all their group games. Australia, on the other hand, won their only completed game in the group stage as the remaining two were affected by rain.