South Africa thrash England by 7 wickets, reach CT 2025 Semis

KARACHI: South Africa crushed England by seven wickets at National Stadium on Saturday to confirm a place in the semi-final of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.

Chasing a modest target of 181 runs, South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen delivered impressive half-centuries to anchor the innings.

England’s Jofra Archer claimed the wickets of Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs, while Klaasen caught by Saqib Mahmood off Adil Rashid’s bowling.

England were bowled out for 179 in 38.2 overs after they opted to bat first in the match 11 of the tournament.

Marco Jansen gave an early breakthrough to South Africa by dismissing Phil Salt in the very first over of the inning.

He dismissed Jamie Smith (0) and Ben Duckett (24) in quick sessions to leave England struggling at 37/7 in their third and final group-stage game of the Champions Trophy 2025.

England’s experienced batter Joe Root and Harry Brook then shared a 62-run stand to help England recover from the early setbacks.

However, the partnership was ended with the dismissal of Harry Brook after he scored 19 runs.

Joe Root fell to Wiaan Mulder after scoring 37 runs, with the scoreboard showing 103/5 in 17.3 overs.

Captain Jos Buttler made 21 off 43 deliveries while Jofra Archer contributed 25 runs to the total.

Adil Rashid (2) was the last to fall as England were bowled out for 179 in 38.2 overs in their final Champions Trophy 2025 game.

For South Africa, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder took three wickets each, Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets while Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi bagged one wicket each.

South Africa Playing XI: Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada.

England Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood.

Read more: Jos Buttler resigns as England white-ball captain

While England have been knocked out of the ongoing tournament, South Africa will look to win the game to secure the remaining semi-final spot from Group B.

South Africa, who sit on the second place in Group B, will qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final with any result apart from a heavy loss.

The game will also be Jos Buttler’s final outing as England captain in the ODI format, having resigned from the position a day earlier.

The side faced successive losses in their games against Australia and Afghanistan to crash out of the Champions Trophy 2025.