England face South Africa in their final CT match: Preview
What's the story
England will take on South Africa in their last group match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The match, which will conclude the matches of Group B, will be played at Karachi's National Stadium on Saturday, March 1.
While England have been eliminated following losses to Australia and Afghanistan, South Africa are all but through to the semis.
Here we look at the match preview.
Match conditions
Weather, pitch report, and streaming details
The weather for the match looks clear, with temperatures expected to remain in the early 20s.
The pitch is expected to be good for batters and spinners, especially in the first innings.
However, spinners may have a tough time in the second innings due to dew.
The match will be live televised on Star Sports Network while Jiostar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
Semifinal hopes
Is South Africa's semifinal spot guaranteed?
While SA's win would guarantee them a semi-final berth, they would practically qualify even if they lose.
The only case which would see SA getting knocked out is if Afghanistan beat Australia on February 28 and England beat SA by such a margin that Temba Bavuma's team's net run rate goes below Australia's.
Notably, SA are currently at the top of Group B with a NRR of +2.140. Australia (+0.475) are significantly behind them though both teams own three points.
Tournament progress
Journey in the tournament
South Africa's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign has seen them comprehensively beat Afghanistan. Their match against Australia washed out due to rain.
Meanwhile, England will be hoping to salvage some pride after being knocked out of the tournament after losing to Australia and Afghanistan.
The English team breached the 300-run mark on both occasions but were let down by their bowlers.
XIs
Here are the predicted XIs
SA predicted XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
England predicted XI: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Stats
Here are the key players
While Rickelton starred with a ton in SA's opener, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram made half-centuries.
Kagiso Rabada claimed three wickets in the game.
Ben Duckett went after the bowlers against Australia, scoring a 143-ball 165.
Meanwhile, Joe Root scored a ton against the Afghan team. Adil Rashid owns 55 ODI wickets in Asia at 28.92.