South Africa qualify for Champions Trophy 2025 knockouts, breeze past England

South Africa became the fourth and final team to qualify for the semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025. The side took on England in game 11 of the ongoing tournament at the National Stadium in Karachi on March 1. The clash began with England coming in to bat first, and it is safe to say that the side’s batting attack failed to impress. 

Openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett departed for 8 and 24 runs, respectively. Furthermore, after Jamie Smith’s dismissal on a duck, Joe Root added 37 runs on the board in hopes of stabilising the innings. South Africa’s bowling attack made sure that England never got going in the first innings. Harry Brook departed for 19 with skipper Jos Buttler adding 21 runs on the board. The star batter’s last game as skipper quickly became a forgettable one as South Africa got off to a brilliant start.

After the first innings, England posted a total of 179 runs



on the board. As for South Africa, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder were the highest wicket takers with three wickets each. Keshav Maharaj struck twice with Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi taking one wicket each as well. Aiming to chase down a target of 180 runs, the Proteas got off to a shaky start as Tristan Stubbs departed for a duck. Furthermore, Ryan Rickelton departed after adding 27 runs in 25 deliveries as well.

However, it were the knocks of Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen that propelled the Proteas to a comfortable victory. Both batters amassed 64 and 72* respectively as South Africa won the game by seven wickets. As for England, Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid were the only wicket-takers with two wickets and one wicket to their name, respectively. Solidifying their place in the knockout stages of the tournament, South Africa will now go on to play either one of India or New Zealand in the semi-final.