South Africa secured their place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a dominant victory over a struggling England, who bowed out of the tournament winless, without their captain, and on a dismal seven-match losing streak.

Opting to bat first in Karachi—arguably the tournament’s most batting-friendly venue—England played as if they had no intention of doing so. Their innings crumbled to the lowest total of this Champions Trophy, with careless and at times reckless strokeplay handing South Africa easy wickets. Despite battling illness and injury, South Africa remained sharp in the field, timed their chase expertly, and head into the knockouts with plenty of positives.

On the bowling front, Marco Jansen continued his fine form, claiming the first three wickets, while Keshav Maharaj was effective in the middle overs and Wiaan Mulder wrapped up the tail. Missing their regular openers Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi (both unwell) and Aiden Markram (hamstring injury), South Africa’s batting still delivered. Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen anchored the chase with match-winning half-centuries in a 127-run third-wicket partnership.

While South Africa now face a selection dilemma of the good kind, England’s campaign leaves them with nothing but problems.

England’s Reckless Approach Seals Their Fate

Already eliminated after their loss to Afghanistan and with Jos Buttler announcing his resignation as captain, England had nothing to lose and were expected to play with freedom. That intent was evident early when Phil Salt struck Marco Jansen’s second delivery over backward point and followed it up with another boundary over midwicket. However, instead of closing out the over sensibly, he attempted to pull the final ball—a short one—and top-edged it to Rassie van der Dussen at midwicket, ending his underwhelming tournament with just 30 runs from 25 balls.

Ben Duckett briefly carried the momentum, smashing two boundaries off Lungi Ngidi in three balls. However, Jamie Smith fell into the same trap as Salt, mistiming a pull shot off Jansen straight to Aiden Markram at mid-on. Duckett, after a promising start, also perished trying to clip Jansen fine, only to get a leading edge back to South Africa’s star bowler. At 37 for 3 in the seventh over, England were in deep trouble.

Joe Root survived an early scare when he cut Kagiso Rabada to backward point, where Wiaan Mulder got both hands to it but couldn’t hold on. Root then found his rhythm, forming a 62-run partnership with a confident Harry Brook. England seemed to be stabilizing, but Jansen wasn’t done yet. Brook launched Keshav Maharaj over midwicket, only for Jansen to sprint from long-on and execute a brilliant sliding catch. Just four balls later, Root attempted a flick off Mulder, missed, and saw the ball ricochet off his back pad onto the stumps—summarizing England’s chaotic and ill-fated campaign.

Buttler’s Final Innings Ends in Disappointment as England Collapse

At that stage, Jos Buttler—playing his final innings as England captain—had faced just one ball and carried the burden of reviving his team. However, he found little support, with Liam Livingstone falling cheaply. Attempting an aggressive charge down the pitch, Livingstone was outfoxed by Keshav Maharaj, who tossed the ball up and had him stumped. His poor form continued, having surpassed 20 runs only once in his last seven innings.

By then, England’s innings resembled an exercise in damage control, while South Africa remained relentless in their hunt for wickets. Kagiso Rabada returned at the halfway mark, immediately troubling Jamie Overton. After forcing a defensive stroke, he lured Overton into an ill-fated attacking shot, which resulted in a stunning one-handed catch by Lungi Ngidi at mid-on.

South Africa’s fielding excellence persisted as Marco Jansen took a low catch at midwicket to dismiss Jofra Archer, and Maharaj completed a tumbling grab at mid-off to send Buttler back for just 21. With that, Ngidi claimed his 100th ODI wicket, and England’s miserable innings came to an end in the 39th over—taking with them South Africa’s concerns about a slow over rate.

South Africa’s Qualification Sealed, but Batters Seek Confidence

By this stage, South Africa’s semi-final spot was guaranteed, as even a loss wouldn’t have affected their superior net run rate over Afghanistan. While this removed any pressure from the chase, it didn’t ease the individual expectations of South Africa’s batters, who were eager for runs ahead of a crucial knockout stage.

Tristan Stubbs, playing his ninth ODI and first in an ICC event, failed to make an impact. Attempting to play Jofra Archer late, he ended up deflecting the ball onto his stumps for a disappointing dismissal. Archer, despite struggling with his line in an extended ten-ball opening over, quickly found his rhythm. He bowled with pace and precision for the rest of his spell, earning a second wicket when he breached Ryan Rickelton’s defense. The left-hander, who looked assured in his 25-ball 27, was undone by a delivery that nipped back sharply and crashed into middle stump.

South Africa Cruise to Victory, Extend Knockout Streak

From that point on, it was all South Africa. While Rassie van der Dussen appeared occasionally frustrated by his slower scoring rate compared to Heinrich Klaasen, the duo complemented each other well. Van der Dussen accumulated runs predominantly on the leg side, while six of Klaasen’s 11 boundaries were crisply driven through the covers. Klaasen brought up his half-century with a cover drive off his 41st ball, marking his fifth consecutive fifty in ODIs—tying the record for most in succession by a South African. Van der Dussen followed suit, reaching his milestone off 72 balls with a square-leg shot off Adil Rashid, his second fifty of the tournament.

Klaasen fell while attempting to launch Rashid over fine leg, only to edge the ball to short third. However, David Miller sealed the victory in emphatic fashion, dispatching Liam Livingstone’s second delivery over the sightscreen for six.

This marks South Africa’s third consecutive ICC tournament where they have progressed to the knockouts, following the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their semi-final opponent and venue will be determined after Sunday’s clash between India and New Zealand. South Africa will face the losing side—either in Dubai on Tuesday (if it’s India) or in Lahore on Wednesday (if it’s New Zealand).

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