Cricket betting tips: India vs Australia and South Africa vs New Zealand preview

And then there were four! The group stage is over with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and England all sent packing from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, leaving India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to fight for the title.

It is no surprise to see these four sides making up the semi-final positions as they have all been in at least one ICC tournament final during this decade, with India and Australia reaching two each, respectively and locking horns in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.

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Although all the teams will be saying that previous results over the last five years counts for little ahead of these clashes, playing in those showpiece fixtures will have prepared teams and individuals for the spotlight that will be on them this Tuesday and Wednesday.

The question is, which teams will embrace the pressure and who will crumble?

India vs Australia 

With India’s dominance over Pakistan in the last 10 years and Australia holding the Ashes urn at the end of the last four series, many in cricket believe the rivalry between India and Australia is the most competitive at the moment.

And who could argue with them? Only 15 months ago, these two teams met in Ahmedabad in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final, and they also fought over the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia from late November to early January this year.

It is the ‘green and gold’ of Australia who have come out on top in both of the above, but India enjoyed white-ball success of their own in the interim when they lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados last June.

There are additional reasons for optimism in the India camp as they are the only side in the Champions Trophy with a 100% record. 

Plus, all of their games have taken place in Dubai, compared to Australia, who have travelled to Rawalpindi and back from Lahore before this trip to the UAE!

Australia’s last two games have resulted in no results, so an argument could also be made that they are a little undercooked ahead of this semi-final. 

But Steve Smith’s side will need little incentive to get up for this clash, as they go up against a well-matched team who they trail just 12-11 in ODI head to heads from the start of 2019 onwards.

FIRST’s top tip for India vs Australia

Shreyas Iyer to India’s top batter - 4/1 with Highbet

Boasting an average of exactly 50.00 in this tournament, the 30-year-old right-hander ended the group stage with scores of 56 against Pakistan, followed by 79 against New Zealand. The latter saw him hit India’s only half-century in their ultimately winning first innings total of 249/9.

No-one should be surprised by Iyer topping the run charts for his country in this competition as he has been delivering consistently over the last 16 months in this format. 

He comes into the semi-final against Australia averaging 58.35 from his last 18 ODI innings and after making 105 in a head-to-head in September 2023.

What’s more, he may be particularly confident ahead of this clash with the Aussies, as Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood dismissed him for single-figure scores in the two games during the 2023 Cricket World Cup, but neither will be playing in this fixture!

South Africa vs New Zealand

‘Momentum’ is a big word in all sports, with extra emphasis given during a tournament setting, and it is South Africa who will feel they have it ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final clash with New Zealand in Lahore.

The Proteas confirmed their place as Group B winners with a crushing seven-wicket defeat of Group B whipping-boys England on Saturday. 

With the Afghanistan and Australia fixture ending as a no-result 24 hours earlier, South Africa knew that only a heavy loss would see them eliminated. 

But they completely avoided that by dismissing England for 179 and then knocking off the runs from just 29.1 overs.

New Zealand, on the other hand, looked on course to top Group A with a 100% record when they restricted India to 249/9 on Sunday but then found themselves spun out of contention by Varun Chakravarthy, who took 5/42 as the Black Caps came up 44 runs short.

Mitchell Santner’s side are a quality team, though, who have been playing top cricket and winning games since arriving in Pakistan in early February. 

They will fancy their chances of bouncing back immediately in this semi-final against a team they beat by six wickets less than a month ago, right here in Lahore!

FIRST’s top tip for South Africa vs New Zealand

Matt Henry to be the top bowler in the game - 11/2 with Highbet

Plenty has been written about the emergence of Matt Henry as the spearhead of New Zealand’s bowling attack over recent months, but he continues to show that life after Trent Boult and Tim Southee is nothing to worry about for Black Caps fans.

He has now gone wicketless in only one innings across his last 17 ODI matches and, from the turn of the year, has taken 22 wickets at an average of 14.95.

Even in defeat, he is still capable of producing the goods, as seen on Sunday when he dismissed Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in the powerplay on his way to returning figures of 5/42.

Extra Tips

Ben Dwarshuis to be Australia’s top bowler - 7/2 with Highbet

He may have only bowled in two innings in ICC tournaments, but Ben Dwarshuis has returned Australia’s best figures in both games. 

With no Cummins, Hazlewood or Mitch Starc, he is relishing the responsibility of leading the pace attack and will be targeting a three-wicket haul for the third match in a row.

Kane Williamson to score a hundred in the match - 71/20 with Highbet

The class of Kane Williamson is there for all to see, with 47 international centuries and 61 scores of 50+ in ODI cricket. He made the highest score of the game against India on Sunday and hit 133 not out against South Africa in Lahore last month.

Odds correct at the time of writing.