2013 ICC Champions Trophy semi-final: England vs South Africa - As it happened...

Zee Media Bureau

London: England defeated South Africa by seven wickets to enter the final of 2013 ICC Champions trophy on Wednesday.

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England 179/3 (37.3 over): Off the 36th came nine runs that include two couples, a triple and two singles. Eoin Morgan hit consecutive boundaries off Morris in the next to level the scores. Trott scored a boundary off the third delivery of the next as England defeated South Africa by seven wickets to enter the final of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

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England 158/3 (35 over): Rory Kleinveldt came back to bowl his fourth over and off it came just a single. De Villiers brought back Duminy into the attack and after being hit for two boundaries by Root, he had the last laugh dismissing Root for 48 (71b, 4X7). He was clean bowled by Duminy. 10 runs and a wicket came in the over. A single came in the 33rd over while three came in the next. Trott scored back-to-back boundaries in the next over bowled by Tsotsobe. Those two were the only scoring shots in the over.

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England 135/2 (30 over): Trott scored a sumptuous boundary off Peterson in 26th over to bring up his half century. He took a triple off the next to retain the strike. Just a single came in the next. McLaren was brought back into the attack and conceded six runs including a boundary to Root. The 29th over bowled by Duminy began with a boundary scored by Root through covers. Three more runs came in it taking the total from it to seven. The 30th over bowled by McLaren was turning out to be a tight one but for Trott who scored a boundary off the sixth. Seven came off it.
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England 105/2 (25 over): Just a single came off the 21st over while off the next Trott added nine runs to his total with the help of a boundary, a triple and a couple off Peterson. Off the next, Trott and Root scored a boundary each with the latter scoring it off an edge. Off the next two came nine runs - four in 24th and five in 25th.

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England 77/2 (20 over): Five runs came in the 15th over including a triple off the second and a double off the sixth. 16th over again was a tight one from McLaren as he gave away just three runs - one being an extra. Tsotsobe came back in the next over and Trott scored his fourth boundary off the first delivery. The next five were dot balls. Off 18th came six runs including 4 leg byes as Root looked to flick the fourth delivery but it came off his pad. The fourth delivery of the 19th over from Tsotsobe to Root was short. Root played a square cut to send that ball racing towards the fence. Five runs came in the over. Off the 20th over came five runs including a boundary to Root.

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England 54/2 (15 over): Kleinveldt struck in his first over as he removed Ian Bell off his sixth delivery of the 11th over. Bell was aiming to play it towards third man region but ended up being caught by De Villiers. He scored 20 (30b, 4X2). Two runs and a wicket came in the over. Meanwhile, Jonathan Trott continued to find boundaries as he scored his third boundary off the sixth delivery of the 12th over by Peterson. That was the only scoring shot in the over. Off the next two came four runs - two in each while five runs came off the 15th over.

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England 39/1 (10 over): Ian Bell breaks the shackles and scored two boundaries in the sixth over bowled by Tsotsobe. Both of them through point region. Eight came off that over. Morris then removed England skipper Alastair Cook in the next over as he edged a short one to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. He scored 6 (21b). Jonathan Trott came in to bat at number three. He opened his account with a boundary of the first ball he faced. Four runs and a wicket in the over. Off the eighth came just four runs. Off the first delivery of the ninth, Trott scored his second boundary through midwicket region while he added three more to his total off the second. Nine were scored in that over. The 10th by Peterson was a maiden.

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England 14/0 (5 over): it has been a quiet start to the chase so far. Robin Peterson was brought in to bowl the second over of the innings. In it came four runs. South Africa will be looking to make such moves as they don't have a lot on the board to defend. JP Duminy replaced Chris Morris in the third over and conceded six runs. The fourth by Peterson saw England add two runs to their total while the fifth by Morris was a maiden.
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England 2/0 (1 over): The two English openers are in the middle. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell will start England innings as they look to chase the target of 176 runs set by South Africa in the first semifinal of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. South Africa put up an ordinary performance today and it was thanks to a ninth wicket partnership between Kleinveldt and Miller that helped them to manage a total of 175 runs. South Africa are without their two premier fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. In their absence, Chris Morris has been handed the responsibility to begin the defense of a low total. His first is a wide and England are off the mark. Two runs from it.

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South Africa 175/10 (38.4 overs): South Africa have posted 175/10 in the first semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy against hosts England. Kleinveldt was the ninth wicket to fall after Broad had him caught by wicketkeeper Buttler. He scored 43(61b, 4X4, 6X1). The number 11th batsman Lonwabo Tsotsobe lasted for just one delivery as Buttler collected his sixth catch of the match. Tsotsobe's became Broad's third victim of the match. David Miller was not out on 56* (51b, 4X5, 6X2).

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South Africa 152/8 (35 overs): This is turning out to be an excellent partnership as South Africa have crossed 150-run mark. Off the 31st over came nine runs including a maximum over midwicket by Kleinveldt. Off the next over bowled by Bopara, came just a boundary by Kleinveldt. Four runs came off the next two. The 35th over saw Kleinveldt and Miller scoring a boundary each off Root. 11 came from it.

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South Africa 124/8 (30 overs): Miller and Kleinveldt are looking to take the innings forward and have conjured a partnership of some sort. The current pair has added 44 runs for the ninth wicket. Eight runs were scored from the 26th over including a boundary off the first delivery by Miller. A review was taken by England after Kleinveldt was struck on the pad by Finn in the same over but the decision was upheld. Off the next came just three runs while the 28th turned out to be productive for SA as 13 runs came in it including a six over long off by Miller. The 29th was a maiden while off the 30th came four runs.

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South Africa 94/8 (25 overs): Ryan McLaren could only add a single to his account before being run out by Jonathan Trott. The delivery from Tredwell struck McLaren on the pad and England appealed for lbw. However, McLaren was out of his crease and by that time Trott ran him out with an underarm throw. Chris Morris was the eighth South African wicket to fall after edging Tredwell's third delivery to wicketkeeper. He scored 3 (6b). The Proteas took powerplay in the 24th over. Steven Finn bowled the first over and Miller deposited the first delivery over long off fence for a maximum. Seven runs came from it. Rory Kleinveldt opened his account in the 25th over with a boundary. Six runs were scored in that over.
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South Africa 76/6 (20 overs): It seems that the tag of chokers is going to stick with the South African team for some time to come as they continue to lose wickets in what is turning out to be a one-sided contest. They have lost two more wickets in JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis. Duminy fell to James Tredwell after being bowled scoring just 3 (11b). Plessis became Tredwell's second victim after in the 19th over. He was caught by wicketkepper Buttler at the score of 26 (39b, 4X3). Off the first delivery of the 20th over, David Miller struck his first boundary.
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South Africa 52/4 (15 overs): South Africa are in a spot of trouble here after losing two more wickets in the past five overs. Robin Peterson was the third wicket to fall after being adjudged lbw off James Anderson. After having a talk with du Plessis, he decided to go against the review. He scored 30 (41b, 4X4). South Africa skipper was the fourth batsman to walk back to the dressing room after edging one from Stuart Broad to wicketkeeper Buttler. He was out for a duck.

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South Africa 45/2 (10 overs): Robin Peterson (30*) and Faf du Plessis (11*) did a little recovery job for the Proteas as they moved from 4/2 to to 45/2 after 10 overs. Left-arm spinner Peterson, who was once again promoted to No. 3, tried to take the attack to the opposition by hitting some boundaries.

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South Africa 16/2 (5 overs): South Africa have made disastrous start to their innings, losing two quick wickets in the first two overs of the match. Colin Ingram fell in the very first over as James Anderson trapped him in front of wickets for a duck. In the next over, Steve Finn also got the taste of success as he removed dependable Hashim Amla for just 1. After 5 overs, South Africa were struggling at 16/2.

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England have won the toss and decided to bowl first.

South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn has failed a fitness test and he won't be playing the semi-final match against England. It is a big blow for South Africa.

There is a bad news for England also as off-spinner Graeme Swann and all-rounder Tim Bresnan have been ruled out of injury.

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Preview: South Africa will look to shed their big tournament `chokers` tag that has haunted them for long as they go into the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy against strong contenders England here on Wednesday, in what promises to be a thrilling showdown.

England topped Group A and will play South Africa in the last-four stage after Sri Lanka knocked holders Australia out of the tournament with a 20-run win at The Oval last night.

Sri Lanka, who finished second in Group A, will take on reigning world champions and Group B toppers India in the second semifinal at Cardiff on Thursday.

South Africa advanced to the semifinals on superior net run-rate after their rain-marred last Group B match against the West Indies in Cardiff ended in a tie.

For South Africa -- often dubbed `chokers` for losing from promising positions -- their only ICC trophy came way back in 1998 when they won the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy, then known as ICC Knock-Out Trophy, in Bangladesh.

Thereafter, the Proteas failed to advance beyond the semifinal stages of major tournaments despite having strong outfits. But come tomorrow, the A B de Villiers-led side would be hoping to turn the tide.

South Africa witnessed a mixed outing in the group stage of the tournament. They lost their opening game to India before getting the better of Pakistan, while their last game against the West Indies ended in a tie.

However, South Africa got a shot in the arm in their last game when pace spearhead Dale Steyn returned to the playing XI after missing the opening two group encounters due to a side strain.

South Africa Squad

Hashim Amla, Colin Ingram, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (c & wk), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Robin Peterson, Chris Morris, Rory Kleinveldt, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Farhaan Behardien, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Alviro Petersen

England Squad

Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Steven Finn, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann  ------------------------ ZEENEWS.com