South Africa romps into Champions Trophy semifinals with 7-wicket win over England

By Canadian Press on March 1, 2025.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Rassie van der Dussen scored 72 not out off 87 balls to lead South Africa into the semifinals of the Champions Trophy by beating England by seven wickets Saturday.

Van der Dussen’s half-century highlighted South Africa’s clinical performance as it finished atop Group B with two wins from three games (and one washout).

The Proteas finished with 181-3 in 29.1 overs in reply to England’s hapless effort of 179 all out (38.2 overs).

This was after England — already ousted from the tournament after back-to-back losses — had won the toss and opted to bat.

Marco Jansen picked 3-39 in seven overs, while Wiaan Mulder took 3-25 in 7.2 overs as England’s batting looked disinterested.

England had previously lost to Australia and Afghanistan and thus finished winless after three games, marking a dismal end to Jos Buttler’s run as skipper.

Buttler announced on Friday that he would step down after England’s surprising exit as well as its past failures in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

Australia is the second team to qualify from Group B and will face either India and New Zealand after those two Group A teams battle for the top spot in Dubai on Sunday.

South Africa’s victory Saturday eliminated Afghanistan, which finished third in Group B.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press

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