South Africa storm into semis, top Group B with commanding win over England
Karachi, Mar 1 (PTI): South Africa cruised into the Champions Trophy semifinals in dominant fashion, defeating England by seven wickets to top Group B here on Saturday.
Opting to bat, England were bundled out for 179 in 38.2 overs as South Africa’s bowlers delivered a disciplined performance.
With the modest target ensuring their semifinal berth by the innings break, the Proteas comfortably chased it down in 29.1 overs to finish with five points, two ahead of Australia.
They will now face the Group A runners-up in the semifinals, with India and New Zealand set to battle for Group A placings in Dubai on Sunday.
Rassie van der Dussen anchored the chase with a composed 72 not out off 86 balls (6x4, 3x6), while Heinrich Klaasen, returning from injury, smashed a fluent 64 off 56 balls (11x4) in a 127 run stand.
Brief Scores:
England 179; 38.3 overs (Joe Root 37; Marco Jansen 3/39, Wiaan Mulder 3/25, Keshav Maharaj 2/35).
South Africa 181/3; 29.1 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 72, Heinrich Klaasen 64).
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
