Karachi, Mar 1: Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen hit fifties each while sharing a stand of 127 runs off 122 balls as South Africa beat England by seven wickets to end as Group B toppers in the 2025 Champions Trophy match at the National Stadium here on Saturday.

After pace all-rounders Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen picked three wickets each to bowl out England for a dismal 179 all out in 38.2 overs, van der Dussen was steady in his 72 not out off 87 balls, laced with six fours and three sixes.

Klaasen, on the other hand, hit a quick 56-ball 64, including 11 boundaries, to play a crucial hand in another clinical win for South Africa, who completed the chase in 29.1 overs.

South Africa will now have to wait to find out whether they will face India or New Zealand in their semifinal. England, meanwhile, made a dismal exit from the competition after suffering three defeats in as many games, with Jos Buttler's final game as the side’s captain ending in a crushing defeat.

In the chase of 180, South Africa played a 10-ball first over, with Jofra Archer conceding all five wides. But Archer got success in the third over when Tristan Stubbs inside-edged to his stumps for a five-ball duck. Ryan Rickleton hit five boundaries in his 25-ball 27 before being castled by a nip-backer from Archer.

Amidst all this, van der Dussen got two fours via punches, and joining him in the chase was Klaasen, who hit five boundaries in seven overs, including three coming off Jamie Overton. The duo rotated the strike well before he pulled and drove off Overton for two fours, before punching Archer twice for boundaries to get his fifty in 41 balls.

Klaasen didn’t slow down here and took a liking to Archer’s pace by pulling, punching, and flicking him for three fours to take 14 runs off the 23rd over. Van der Dussen, meanwhile, smacked and pulled Adil Rashid for six and four, respectively, to get his fifty in 72 balls.

He signalled a change in gears by hitting a juicy full toss from Liam Livingstone over wide long-on for six before hammering Rashid for another maximum. After overtaking Klaasen, van der Dussen punched Livingstone for four, though Klaasen sliced to backward point off Rashid. David Miller finished off the chase in style by smacking Livingstone down the ground for a six to spark jubilation in the Proteas camp.

Brief scores: England 179 all out in 38.2 overs (Joe Root 37, Jofra Archer 25; Wiaan Mulder 3-25, Marco Jansen 3-39) lost to South Africa 181/3 in 29.1 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 72 not out, Heinrich Klaasen 64; Jofra Archer 2-55, Adil Rashid 1-37) by seven wickets.

(IANS)

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