South Africa secured a stunning seven-wicket victory over England, confirming their spot in the Champions Trophy semi-finals. England, batting first, posted the lowest total of the tournament at 179, with Joe Root top-scoring at 37. South Africa’s bowlers, particularly Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, dominated, each taking three wickets. In response, South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen scored 72 and 64 runs, respectively, leading a successful chase of 181 runs. England ended the tournament winless and on a seven-match losing streak, while South Africa enters the knockouts with strong momentum and confidence.
South Africa 181 for 3 (Van der Dussen 72, Klaasen 64, Archer 2-55) defeated England 179 (Root 37, Archer 25, Mulder 3-25, Jansen 3-39) by seven wickets
Opting to bat first at the event’s most high-scoring venue, England performed as if they’d prefer not to. They were dismissed for the tournament’s lowest total, handing South Africa wickets through a combination of carefree and at times reckless batting. Despite facing illness and injuries that sidelined key players, South Africa wasn’t always at their peak but excelled in the field, crafted their chase effectively, and emerged with numerous positives heading into the knockout stage.
Ben Duckett picked up where Salt left off, hitting two boundaries off Lungi Ngidi in three balls, but Jamie Smith mirrored Salt’s error, carelessly pulling Jansen to Markram at mid-on. Duckett found his rhythm as he received balls on his pads but, while attempting to clip Jansen fine, he ended up with a leading edge back to South Africa’s chief destroyer. At this point, England found themselves at 37 for 3 in the seventh over.
This could have quickly turned into 38 for 4 when Joe Root cut Rabada to backward point, but Mulder couldn’t hold on despite getting both hands to it. Root continued, executing impressive drives and pulls to form a 62-run partnership with a confident Harry Brook, contributing to England’s solid standings. However, they were unable to keep Jansen out of the game. When Brook smashed a Maharaj delivery over midwicket, Jansen sprinted from long-on, dived to his right, and executed an incredible catch. Just four deliveries later, Root was bowled after he missed a leg-side flick off Mulder, with the ball striking his back pad before crashing into the stumps.
At this point, Buttler, in what would be his final innings as England captain, had yet to face a ball and had a challenging task ahead. He received scant support from Liam Livingstone, who charged towards a Maharaj delivery; however, South Africa’s left-arm spinner adeptly adjusted, tossed the ball up, and had Livingstone stumped. Livingstone hasn’t surpassed 20 runs in six out of his last seven innings.
By this point, England’s performance resembled an exercise in biding time, while South Africa maintained their focus on claiming wickets. Rabada returned after the halfway point, beating Jamie Overton with his first delivery, keeping him contained into a defensive shot, and eventually, having him caught at mid-on as Overton attempted to attack. Aiming to whip Rabada over the leg side, he misplayed the ball into the hands of Ngidi, who made an impressive one-handed catch as he landed.
South Africa’s impressive catching continued: Jansen took a low catch at midwicket to dismiss Jofra Archer, while Maharaj made a tumbling grab at mid-off to conclude Buttler’s innings at 21 and secure Ngidi’s 100th ODI wicket. England was all out by the 39th over, leaving South Africa to carry their concerns about a slow over rate with them.
At that point, South Africa’s qualification for the semi-finals was guaranteed, as even a loss wouldn’t hinder their net run-rate from dipping below Afghanistan’s. This alleviated pressure on their batting chase, although South Africa’s batters remained eager for runs ahead of a critical week. Tristan Stubbs, playing his ninth ODI and first ICC event, failed to score as he attempted to play a late shot to an Archer delivery, deflecting it onto his stumps.
Although Archer had a tough first over that lasted 10 balls as he struggled with his line, he quickly found his stride, delivering the remainder of his opening spell with speed and enhanced accuracy. He also achieved a second wicket as Ryan Rickelton, appearing confident in his 25-ball 27, was bowled by a ball that nipped back and struck middle stump.
From that point on, it was all South Africa’s game. While van der Dussen occasionally seemed frustrated by his slower scoring compared to Klaasen, the duo complemented each other effectively. Van der Dussen primarily scored through the leg side, while six of Klaasen’s 11 fours were struck through the covers. Klaasen reached his fifty with one of those shots off the 41st ball he faced, marking his fifth consecutive half-century in the format, tying him for the most in South African history. Van der Dussen achieved his half-century off 72 balls, pulling Adil Rashid through square leg. Klaasen departed during an attempt to launch Rashid over fine leg but instead edged to short third. David Miller sealed the victory with a six over the sight-screen off the second ball he faced.
This marks the third consecutive tournament where South Africa has reached the knockout stage, following the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their semi-final opponent and venue will only be finalized after the match between India and New Zealand on Sunday. They will face the loser of that match either in Dubai on Tuesday (if it’s India) or Lahore on Wednesday (if it’s New Zealand).
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket.