India, and New Zealand, have booked their place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals after both registered consecutive wins in their Group A matches. India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan to qualify for the last-four. New Zealand, meanwhile, cruised past Pakistan and Bangladesh for their foray into the next stage.
The difference between them, and rest of the competition, is that India are playing all their matches in Dubai. Rest of the teams, however, will play in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as the designated host cities.
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India are also destined to play their semi-final in Dubai and if all goes as per plan for the Rohit Sharma-led team, the final will be staged at the Dubai International Stadium as well. If not, it will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had expressed inability to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns.
Pat Cummins, who is missing the Champions Trophy with an ankle injury and for the birth of his daughter, said India hold an advantage because they are playing in a single location.
“I think it’s good that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there,” Cummins told Yahoo Sport Australia.
The seamer will return to action next month in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where is the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Cummins led SRH to the final last season, where they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
“It’s been nice to be at home with everything going on and the ankle rehab is tracking well, so I will start running and bowling this week. There’s the IPL (next month) and then we’ve got the Test World Championship and a tour to the West Indies, so there’s a lot to look forward to,” Cummins said on the decision to skip the eight-team ODI tournament.
In his absence, Steve Smith is leading the Australian team. The ODI World Cup champions won their opening game against England in Lahore, chasing 352 on the back of Josh Inglis’ unbeaten 120 (86), registering multiple records in the process.
