Proteas reach Champions Trophy semifinals with crushing victory over England

South Africa coasted into the semifinals of the Champions Trophy tournament after securing a convincing seven-wicket victory over England in their last group match in Karachi on Saturday.

Chasing a total of 180 runs to win, South Africa reached their target with more than 20 overs to spare, racing to 181/3 in the 30th over of their innings.

Heading into the match, the SA team were virtually guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, while England had nothing to lose, already having been eliminated from the seimifinals.

However, South Africa dominated the game, with Rassie van der Dussen (72  not out off 87 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (64 off 56) carrying them to victory.

Van der Dussen and Klaasen shared 127 runs for the third wicket, and while Klaasen was ultimately removed in the 29th over of their innings, the Proteas held on for a comfortable win.

England innings

Earlier, after they won the toss and chose to bat, England’s top order were pinned back by seamer Marco Jansen, who took 3/39 to exert early pressure.

And all-rounder Wiaan Mulder (3/25) kept their opponents under the thumb, as England were bowled out for 179 runs in the 39th over.

“I thought the boys were really good,” said Aiden Markram, who took over from Proteas captain Temba Bavuma, with the regular skipper missing the match after falling ill.

“The wicket was quite slow, slower than we expected. The boys adapted really well and kept trying to hold a length for as long as they could.”