England beat South Africa by 22 runs in their second Group B match to book a semifinal berth in the Champions Trophy at Johannesburg last night. Chasing a victory target of 324 runs, South Africa could make 301 for the loss of 9 wickets. Skipper Graeme Smith scored 141 runs in 134 balls. For England, James Anderson and S Broad took 3 wickets each. Earlier, after winning the toss and electing to bat, England has posted a commanding 323 runs for the loss of eight wickets. For England, Owais Shah 98, Paul Collingwood 82 and Eoin Morgan 67 were the batsmen around whom England batting revolved. South Africa is now virtually out of the tournament.In another encounter, New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 38 runs in a high scoring Group B match to keep their semifinal hopes alive in the Champions Trophy. Kiwi Skipper Daniel Vettori shone with both bat and ball in his team's victory as he first contributed an invaluable 48 and then took two crucial wickets. Invited to bat, New Zealand overcame a mid-innings collapse to post a challenging 315 for seven and then bundled out Sri Lanka for 277 in 46.4 overs. Faced with a do-or-die scenario after the opening loss to Pakistan, India take on defending champions Australia in their second Group A match of the Champions Trophy at Centurion today. The 54-run loss to Pakistan on Saturday has not just exposed the frailties of India's bowling and batting but has also put them in danger of crashing out of the event in case they lose today.
News On AIR | September 28, 2009 5:48 AM
England and New Zealand won their matches in ICC Champions Trophy