Australia captain Steve Smith steered clear of commenting on India’s Dubai advantage at the Champions Trophy following the four-wicket defeat in the semifinal on Tuesday.
India alone has been spared travel in the ODI tournament, having refused to play in host nation Pakistan, citing security concerns.
The semifinal win was India’s fourth in succession in Dubai at the tournament and its next opponent, either South Africa or New Zealand, will have to travel to the Emirate after the second semifinal in Lahore later on Wednesday.
Asked about India’s advantage, Smith said he was not “buying into it”, though he noted the Dubai wicket suited their game.
“India obviously played some really good cricket here,” Smith told the post-match press conference.
“The surface kind of suits their style with the spinners that they’ve got and the seamers that they have at their disposal for a wicket like that. They played well, they outplayed us and they deserve the victory.”
While ODI World Cup winner Australia posted a competitive 264 all out after winning the toss, its depleted bowling unit was powerless to stop Virat Kohli from anchoring India’s successful chase.
Australia was missing regular captain Pat Cummins along with two other first-choice pace bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Smith said getting 300 might have made a difference against India and conceded his team’s relative inexperience may have cost it. But he praised the raw players in the squad for turning up and doing a “really good job”.
“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,” he added.