On Saturday, South Africa defeated England at the National Stadium in Karachi with a brilliant performance and secured a place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025. During this victory, songs of African singer Kurt Darren were playing in the stadium, which were telling the story of England’s defeat.
England head coach Brendon McCullum said after the defeat: “What we saw tonight was a prime example of why we’re out of the tournament,” “We weren’t able to withstand the pressure when it was applied, and we weren’t able to navigate our way through. We lacked confidence.”
England’s poor performance and South Africa’s grip
The England team was already weakened by the resignation of captain Jos Buttler. Its effect was also visible on their game and the entire team was reduced to just 179 runs in 38.2 overs. This was the lowest score of this tournament.
South Africa’s Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi dismissed three of England’s batsmen in the beginning. Along with bowling, Jansen showed great skill in fielding and took a brilliant catch of Harry Brook.
Ngidi also took a tremendous diving catch to take the wicket of Jamie Overton off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada. When Jansson was asked about his catch, he joked: “Only 28?!”
Chasing a small target, South Africa won the match without any trouble. Heinrich Klaasen (64 runs, 56 balls) scored his fifth consecutive half-century and made a 127-run partnership with Rassie van der Dussen (72 runs, 87 balls)* to help the team win by 7 wickets.
With this win, South Africa reached the top position in Group B and secured a place in the semi-finals.
Now South Africa will wait for the match between India and New Zealand for its semi-final match, which will be played in Dubai on Sunday.
- If India wins, South Africa will face New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday.
- If New Zealand wins, South Africa will play India in Dubai on Tuesday.
Therefore, the South African team will leave for Dubai on Sunday. Although this journey may not be necessary, Marco Jansson has no problem with it: “I don’t mind it,” he told a press conference. “It’s a short [90-minute] flight and not too much of a hassle.” Besides, he noted, “I haven’t played golf for a long time”.
While England were eliminated from the tournament, South Africa are heading towards their first Champions Trophy title. If he continues to play in this form, his path towards victory will become stronger.
