Australia's captain Steve Smith (C) shakes hands with India's KL Rahul as India's Ravindra Jadeja (R) watches at the end of the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international (ODI) semi-final cricket match between Australia and India at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on March 4, 2025. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
Dubai: Australia captain Steve Smith on Tuesday said his team's inexperienced bowlers would be "better for the exposure" after slipping to a Champions Trophy semi-final defeat by India on Tuesday.
The reigning world champions lost by four wickets in Dubai as they failed to defend a below-par total of 264 all out.
India achieved victory with 11 balls to spare despite fast bowler Nathan Ellis and leg-spinner Adam Zampa taking two wickets each.
Australia were without their frontline pace trio for the tournament, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood sidelined by injuries and Mitchell Starc out due to personal reasons.
All-rounder Cooper Connolly replaced Matthew Short, who missed the semi-final through injury, while leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha was brought into the team for just his fourth ODI appearance.
Virat Kohli's 84 and an unbeaten 42 by KL Rahul gave India a measure of revenge against Australia for their 2023 World Cup final defeat in Ahmedabad.
"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.
"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."
