As India prepares to face Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal on March 4 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, memories of the 2023 World Cup final linger.

That afternoon in 2023, Australia clinched their sixth World Cup title, defeating India by six wickets in Ahmedabad. This upcoming semifinal offers India a chance at redemption.

Although players are prone and sometimes bound to move on from their past heartbreaks, the World Cup final debacle is a big setback which the India players must have stored at one of the darker compartments of their psyche. Australia, in the Champions Trophy, are without some big names, but will pose the same threat to Rohit Sharma and his boys again.

As India lock horns against the Aussies, here are three things they must utilize to beat Australia-

1. Capitalize on Familiar Conditions

Throughout the Champions Trophy, India has played all its matches in Dubai, becoming well-acquainted with the pitch and weather conditions. Despite suggestions of a home advantage, captain Rohit Sharma emphasized that each surface at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium presents unique challenges. Leveraging their experience on these pitches, especially their proficiency with spin-friendly conditions, could provide India with a strategic edge over Australia.

Although reports suggest a new deck will be used in Dubai for the semifinal, India can still utilize conditions to their advantage.

2. Neutralize Australia's Key Players

Australia's lineup boasts match-winners like spinner Adam Zampa, who, despite not being in peak form, has a knack for taking crucial wickets.

Additionally, the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins due to injury has led Steve Smith to helm the team, introducing new dynamics.

India's batters must adopt a calculated approach against Zampa, while bowlers should exploit the relatively inexperienced leadership and any potential gaps in Australia's strategy.

The Aussies also have a lack of depth in spin and Indian batters must exploit that. In terms of pace attack, the scenario is the same, which provides even more benefit to the Indian batters.

3. A pragmatic approach

It is all about learning from defeats, and India must have already had that lesson. Although flamboyance and aggression have different auras, pragmatic approaches are sometimes the key to success.

India already realized that in the 2023 Final, as a Rohit Sharma wicket fully changed the match that afternoon.

Hence, the order must be to understand the situation properly and act accordingly. India do possess a plethora of talent in their team and they will have to strategize properly.

When India bat, Rohit Sharma mustn't throw his wicket away as he has done in recent times in the name of aggressive approach. A player of Rohit's calibre can capitalize and catch up to the scoring rate in a 50-over match, and the India captain may need to curb his enthusiasm for that extra boundary in an over.