Karachi, March 1 (IANS) Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen hit fifties each while sharing a stand of 127 runs off 122 balls as South Africa beat England by seven wickets to end as Group B toppers in the 2025 Champions Trophy match at the National Stadium here on Saturday.
After pace all-rounders Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen picked three wickets each to bowl out England for a dismal 179 all out in 38.2 overs, van der Dussen was steady in his 72 not out off 87 balls, laced with six fours and three sixes. Klaasen, on the other hand, hit a quick 56-ball 64, including 11 boundaries, to play a crucial hand in another clinical win for South Africa, who completed the chase in 29.1 overs.
South Africa will now have to wait to find out whether they will face India or New Zealand in their semifinal. England, meanwhile, made a dismal exit from the competition after suffering three defeats in as many games, with Jos Buttler’s final game as the side’s captain ending in a crushing defeat.
In the chase of 180, South Africa played a 10-ball first over, with Jofra Archer conceding all five wides. But Archer got success in the third over when Tristan Stubbs inside-edged to his stumps for a five-ball duck. Ryan Rickleton hit five boundaries in his 25-ball 27 before being castled by a nip-backer from Archer.
Amidst all this, van der Dussen got two fours via punches, and joining him in the chase was Klaasen, who hit five boundaries in seven overs, including three coming off Jamie Overton. The duo rotated the strike well before he pulled and drove off Overton for two fours, before punching Archer twice for boundaries to get his fifty in 41 balls.
Klaasen didn’t slow down here and took a liking to Archer’s pace by pulling, punching, and flicking him for three fours to take 14 runs off the 23rd over. Van der Dussen, meanwhile, smacked and pulled Adil Rashid for six and four, respectively, to get his fifty in 72 balls.
He signalled a change in gears by hitting a juicy full toss from Liam Livingstone over wide long-on for six before hammering Rashid for another maximum. After overtaking Klaasen, van der Dussen punched Livingstone for four, though Klaasen sliced to backward point off Rashid. David Miller finished off the chase in style by smacking Livingstone down the ground for a six to spark jubilation in the Proteas camp.
Previously, electing to bat first, England put on a shoddy batting performance, as no one scored more than Joe Root’s 37. Their wickets fell in clumps as South Africa struck at regular intervals and were superb in holding on to their chances.
Despite stand-in captain Aiden Markram going off due to a hamstring injury, it didn’t deter South Africa in their quest to keep England on a tight leash. Apart from Mulder and Jansen taking 3-25 and 3-39, respectively, Keshav Maharaj took two wickets, while Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada picked a scalp each.
Jasen made an immediate impact as Phil Salt top-edged to mid-wicket and fell in the first over. The tall all-rounder came back in the third over to have Jamie Smith pull to mid-on and fall for a three-ball duck. Jansen made his third strike in the power-play when he caught Ben Duckett’s leading edge off his bowling.
South Africa could have got their fourth wicket if Mulder hadn’t dropped a catch at gully when Root was on three. To add salt to the wounds, Brook hit Rabada for back-to-back boundaries and hit him for another four, while Root hit Jansen for two boundaries as England ended the first power-play at 62/3.
Root signalled his intention to change gears when he took a six and four off Mulder and Rabada, respectively. The 62-run stand for the fourth wicket ended when Brook didn’t get elevation on the loft off Maharaj, and Jansen completed a stunning catch by running a long way from long-on, diving to his right, and grabbing the ball with both hands.
One brought two for South Africa as Root tried to flick off Mulder, but he completely missed the ball as it crashed into the stumps after hitting his back pad. England’s slide continued as Livingstone was stumped easily off Maharaj, while Ngidi made a stunning catch to dismiss Overton off Rabada.
Buttler, playing his last game as England’s captain, and Archer tried to resurrect England’s innings through a 42-run stand before a diving Jansen took another superb catch to send the latter back and break the partnership. In the next over, Buttler chipped straight to mid-off and fell to Ngidi for 21, while Rashid nicked behind off Mulder as England’s terrible batting innings ended with 11.4 overs to spare, summing up their wretched run in the competition.
Brief scores:
England 179 all out in 38.2 overs (Joe Root 37, Jofra Archer 25; Wiaan Mulder 3-25, Marco Jansen 3-39) lost to South Africa 181/3 in 29.1 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 72 not out, Heinrich Klaasen 64; Jofra Archer 2-55, Adil Rashid 1-37) by seven wickets
–IANS
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