South Africa vs England Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: ENG look to salvage pride, SA aim for top spot in group

South Africa vs England Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: South Africa’s Temba Bavuma, center, and teammates congratulate each other after winning the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match against Afghanistan, in Karachi.

South Africa are tied on points with Afghanistan, but having thrashed them in the opening game of their campaign, are well clear on the NRR front. England would need to beat the Proteas by 207 runs, or chase down a small target at more than 10 runs per over. Afghanistan won’t be hoping for any favours from an English team who have looked lacklustre all tournament and well before, especially with Jos Buttler announcing that he will step down from captaincy. There isn’t a lot of spirit in this English camp, but every team wants something to show for their effort. Who knows, maybe all it requires is a win in this contest for England to find some sort of spark.

Meanwhile, South Africa will want top spot in this group, and will fight for that. They are the second-strongest team in the competition on balance of teams, and will want the group placement to warrant that kind of stature. They will also be hoping to avoid playing India in Dubai earlier than they have to, and while they will need to rely on results in Group A for that, there is no question that their strengths lie in playing on surfaces such as the one they will get in Karachi today, or in Lahore should they make that semifinal. So far in Karachi in this tournament, both matches have been won by teams scoring in the 310-320 range batting first, and might therefore not be a chasing pitch.

Of course, South Africa have also only played one match this tournament, and getting in more gametime will be crucial. They looked in solid form against Afghanistan, but will want their batting to play itself into form and for the bowlers to get more reps into playing in these subcontinental conditions. They will also be hoping that Heinrich Klaasen is fit to play, and in doing so gain a game-changing player who could be the difference between 350 and 400 if he can find his groove in the middle order.

For England, there isn’t anything other than pride to play for. They have looked toothless, error-prone, and without a clear idea of how to win ODI games. They have had a couple of terrific performances thanks to Ben Duckett and Joe Root’s fine centuries, but there are more questions than solutions present in this team. This match will be the last chance for a lot of these players — Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone prime amongst them — to stake a claim for the long-term future of this English ODI team, otherwise they will fall victim to the upcoming major reset that English cricket must take.