Win Projections to be updated soon
At the National Stadium in Karachi, South Africa easily defeated England to advance to the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinals.
England, batting first, got off to a disastrous start and never really put up much of a fight against the Proteas bowlers, who dismissed them for a pittance of 179 in 38.2 overs. Even though his performance in the match that formally terminated England’s tournament campaign was lacklustre, Joe Root, the team’s senior most batsman, was the top English player of the day with 37 runs off 44 balls.
Jofra Archer took both of the three wickets that South Africa lost as they chased down the mark in just 29.1 overs. The Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen partnership, which contributed 127 runs for the third wicket stand and was broken with just six runs left for a victory, changed the Jos Buttler-led team’s brief optimism—given by Archer’s wicket—into hopelessness. That’s exactly what David Miller accomplished, hitting a maximum to end the encounter.
Talking Points
1. Jos Buttler resigns on lowest point
The English captain Jos Buttler had announced on the eve of the game that it will be last outing as their white-ball skipper. Much like his last couple of years as captain have been, it ended on a resonating note, as England faced a shambolic win. The onus of England’s captaincy in the white-ball formats will now be handed over to the younger generation, with Brendon McCullum at the helm of coaching duties. Ben Stokes becomes a comeback prospect, in case England think of him as an all-format skipper for the next few years.
2. South Africa enter the semis, but unsure of opponent
The Proteas were captained by Aiden Markram in this game, as Temba Bavuma did not take the field. The seven-wicket win meant that South Africa completed the formality of their qualification for the later stages of the tournament. However, they are still unsure of whom they would be facing in the semi-final, and hence, will be required to travel to Dubai alongside Australia irrespective of who plays India in the first semi-final on March 04. The situation is tricky and fussy, but it is what it is.
Who Said What?
Aiden Markram, South Africa and Winning Captain, said
(On his hamstring niggle) I think it’s alright, hopefully in the next few days, I can get good rest and recover. (On the pitch) It was slow initially, the boys adapted really well to the conditions. We held our lengths and bowled in good channels. (On Marco Jansen) He has been huge for us, he takes wickets upfront, he finds different ways of doing so and he pairs well with KG as well.
(On Klaasen) He has been in ridiculous sort of form since the last many months. He had a little niggle but he never really left, he has been great for us. (On their plans if they play their semi-final in Dubai) We have to see whether that’s the case and what the conditions will be like, we have a big squad to choose from. The coach generally gets the best out of the players.
Jos Buttler, England and Losing Captain, said
It was really a disappointing performance, we were short of our mark today, so really disappointing. A decent surface, a little bit slow and two-paced, Duckett got us into a nice position but we couldn’t take advantage of that. I don’t know to be honest, as a whole group, we are not getting the results and that takes away the confidence from us. So, it’s a change of scene and we have to see where cricket takes us.
Of course, there is no doubt, the talent is there, we have all the elements to put together a great side, I’m sure Brendon and the guys at the top will formulate some plans and it’s up to the individuals as well to put their mark and assure that the team gets to where it wants to be. It was a fantastic time to be a world-cup winning captain and that was my best day in my captaincy tenure. Joe has been a shining light and a great example for us. After relinquishing his captaincy, he has played brilliantly and hopefully, I can follow in his footsteps.
Marco Jansen, Player of the Match, said
It’s a good feeling, the boys worked very hard, good batting conditions from a batting point of view, very happy to go through. I used all my options really well, hit my lengths really well. (On the catch he took to dismiss Brook) Only 28 meters? Wow! I only saw the ball going up and didn’t think much, I got there really easily. (On making it to the semi-finals) Will take it as it comes but for now, we are going to rest tomorrow.
India
