Champions Trophy 2025: South Africa Crush England by 7 Wickets to Seal Semifinal Spot: South Africa, on March 1, 2025, secured the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals ticket after a strong seven-wicket win over England at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi. England came into the tournament with high expectations. They were soon humbled to get weeded out after losing all their matches in the group stage.
It has indeed been a disastrous campaign, for they have failed to win even a single match, thus accentuating their struggle in the 50-over format. On the other hand, a good all-round show by South Africa kept them unbeaten, thus boosting their title aspirations.
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Champions Trophy 2025: SA vs ENG Match Summary
England inning
Batting first, England succumbed to a disciplined South African bowling attack, making only 179 runs before being bowled out in 38.2 overs. Joe Root top-scored with 37, whereas captain Jos Buttler played his last innings as skipper for a contribution of 21. The English batting side seemed not equipped to handle the pace-spin combination brought in by South Africa, which saw wickets falling at regular intervals. On an unrelenting day on the pitch, South Africa’s bowlers cleaned up with Wiaan Mulder 3 for 25 and Marco Jansen 3 for 39.
South Africa’s Chase
A calm and composed chase that showed South Africa’s skill and elegance. Rassie van der Dussen scored an unbeaten 72 off 87 balls to lead his team’s victory. Heinrich Klaasen was not far behind with a stroke-filled 64 before being caught by Adil Rashid. They paired well together, making the chase a smooth affair, with South Africa achieving their target at 180 for 3 in 29.1 overs.
Playing XI of South Africa and England
England: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen wk, David Miller, Aiden Markram c, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen
Implications and the Semifinal Scenarios
The victory assures that South Africa shall now proceed to the semifinals, with Australia, India, and New Zealand being the other three. While England would breeze past, their own agonising experience is one of the poor outings by England in ICC tournaments.
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The semifinal matchups now hinge on the outcome of the ever-so-eagerly awaited India-New Zealand clash:
In case of the India win tomorrow—India vs. Australia and South Africa vs. New Zealand in the semis.
In case of a New Zealand win tomorrow, New Zealand vs. Australia and India vs. South Africa in the semis.
As the tournament progresses toward finality, all eyes are now on the India-New Zealand match, as it will determine the semifinal line-up.
