England exited the Champions Trophy without a win as South Africa dominated, chasing 180 with ease to secure their place in the semi-finals.
South Africa has booked its place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a dominant seven-wicket win over England in Karachi, bringing an end to England’s winless campaign.
England’s struggles continued as they collapsed to 179 all out in just 38.2 overs, marking the lowest total of the tournament.
South Africa then cruised to victory as the -125 betting site favorites, chasing down the target with 125 balls to spare.
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Jos Buttler, playing his final match as England’s white-ball captain, admitted his team fell well short of expectations.
“A really disappointing performance. We were so far short of the mark there today. It was a decent surface—pretty slow and a bit two-paced—but we’re not going on and making those big, telling contributions which has been a story of this side for some time now with the bat,” Buttler said.
After winning the toss, England never found momentum and struggled as +100 underdogs with the top cricket betting sites.
Joe Root top-scored with 37 before falling to Wiaan Mulder, who led South Africa’s bowling attack with 3-25.
Buttler scratched his way to 21 off 43 balls without hitting a boundary, while Harry Brook (19) shared a 62-run partnership with Root before the middle order collapsed.
Ben Duckett (24) and Jofra Archer (25) showed brief resistance, but Marco Jansen (3-39) and Keshav Maharaj (2-35) kept South Africa in complete control.
Chasing 180, South Africa lost Tristan Stubbs for a duck, bowled by Archer, before Ryan Rickelton (27) also fell to the speedster.
However, Rassie van der Dussen (72 not out) and Heinrich Klaasen (64) steadied the innings with a commanding 127-run partnership, securing the victory with ease.
Van der Dussen anchored the chase with an 87-ball knock, clearing the ropes three times, while Klaasen’s 56-ball 64 featured 11 boundaries.
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Stand-in captain Aiden Markram, who left the field with a hamstring injury, credited his team for adapting to the conditions.
“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. We took wickets throughout,” he said.
With South Africa’s victory, Afghanistan has been officially eliminated, while England is now left to search for a new white-ball captain following Buttler’s resignation.
Coach Brendon McCullum suggested changes could be coming, saying, “If it is the same person [for ODIs and T20s], great. If it’s two, that’s great too. We’ve got to put plans in place for the demands of white-ball cricket and make sure our team walks out there a lot more confident than we are at the moment.”
South Africa will now wait for the outcome of the India vs. New Zealand match, which will determine whether they play their semi-final in Dubai or return to Lahore.
For England, this tournament marks one of their most disappointing campaigns in recent memory, exiting without a single win and leaving them with major questions ahead of future white-ball competitions.
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