KARACHI: South Africa qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy on Saturday with a convincing seven wicket win over a hapless England in a Group B match in Karachi.
Wiaan Mulder (3-25) and Marco Jansen (3-39) bowled out England for a paltry 179 in 38.2 overs before South Africa chased down the target for the loss of three wickets in 29.1 overs.
The victory means South Africa, who topped Group B with five points, a point more than Australia, join the Aussies in the semi-finals while India and New Zealand -- who meet in Dubai on Sunday -- are in the last four from Group A.
As for England, they have endured a wretched tournament, with this their third loss coming after defeats to Australia and then to Afghanistan which ended their interest in the tournament with a game to spare.
The India-New Zealand clash will determine the semi-final line-ups, the first in Dubai on March 4 while the second is in Lahore a day later.
India, whose government refused to send its national team to Pakistan over political tensions, will play their semi-final in Dubai irrespective of where they finish in the Group.
If India qualify for the final it will be played in Dubai on March 9. If not, Lahore will stage the final.
Stand-in skipper Aiden Markram praised Jansen.
"He's (Jansen) been huge for us," said Markram of the left-armer. "We all know in the powerplay, especially in conditions like this, you need to be taking wickets up front. He's been peaking at the right time for us."
Outgoing England skipper Jos Buttler rued another poor show.
"A really disappointing performance," said Buttler. "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."
Fast bowler Jofra Archer dismissed Tristan Stubbs (nought) and Ryan Rickelton (27) with the score on 47 but Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen kept South Africa on track with a 127-run stand for the third wicket.
Klaasen, who scored a 56-ball 64 with 11 boundaries, fell to spinner Adil Rashid with just five needed for victory which David Miller completed with a six.
Dussen hit three sixes and six boundaries in his unbeaten 87-ball 72.
Archer had figures of 2-55 while Rashid took 1-37.
Earlier, Mulder and Jansen destroyed the top-order after England won the toss and batted.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj had figures of 2-35 as England's batting chart presented a sorry picture with Joe Root the highest scorer with 37.
The fact that England were already out with two defeats in as many games and Buttler having stepped down after this match left them dispirited.
Jansen removed opener Phil Salt (eight), Jamie Smith (nought) and Ben Duckett (24) in an incisive first spell of five overs.
He then took a brilliant diving catch at long-on off Maharaj to send Harry Brook back for 19, ending a 62-run fourth-wicket stand with Root.
Just four runs later, England suffered a massive blow when Root was bowled by Mulder and the problems worsened with Liam Livingstone dismissed by Maharaj for nine.
Root's 44-ball knock had one six and four boundaries.
Buttler (21) and Archer (25) added 42 runs for the eighth wicket but once Archer was dismissed by Mulder the last two wickets fell with the addition of just eight runs.
South Africa had to leave out regular skipper Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi who were both unwell while Markram was also forced to leave the field with a hamstring problem.
South Africa upstage hapless England to reach Champions Trophy semis
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South Africa upstage hapless England to reach Champions Trophy semis
- England were bowled out for a paltry 179 in 38.2 overs, with South Africa winning by seven wickets
- Sunday’s India-New Zealand clash will determine the line-up for the semi-finals in Dubai and Lahore
India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted
- With bilateral cricket a casualty of their relations, emotions run high whenever the neighbors meet in multi-team events
- For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize opinion
India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.
With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbors lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.
India’s strained relations with another neighbor, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.
When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety concerns, the regional chessboard shifted.
Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A contest against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, jeopardizing a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.
Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes parleys and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament’s most sought-after contest.
Strictly on cricketing merit, however, the rivalry has been one-sided.
Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the tournament’s history and they underlined that dominance at last year’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
India beat Pakistan three times in that single event, including a stormy final marred by provocative gestures and snubbed handshakes.
Former India captain Rohit Sharma does not believe in the “favorites” tag, especially when the arch-rivals clash.
“It’s such a funny game,” Rohit, who led India to the title in the T20 World Cup two years ago, recently said.
“You can’t just go and think that it’s a two-point victory for us. You just have to play good cricket on that particular day to achieve those points.”
INDIA’S EDGE
Both teams have opened their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, yet India still appear to hold a clear edge.
Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Abhishek is doubtful for the Pakistan match though as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of their first two matches.
Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a top-order linchpin, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has regained form, while Rinku Singh has settled into the finisher’s role in India’s explosive lineup.
Mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-crafty Jasprit Bumrah anchor the spin and pace units, while Hardik Pandya’s all-round spark is pivotal.
For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize opinion.
Captain Salman Agha will bank on spin-bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose slinging, side-arm action has intrigued opponents and fans alike.
