🏏ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Aus vs SA, Match 7, Group B🏏

🏏ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Australia vs South Africa, Match 7, Group B at Rawalpindi on 25/02/2025 at 2:30PM IST🏏

Australia, South Africa in battle to top the group

Both teams made 300-plus totals in their opening games, so expect another run-fest on a flat surface in Rawalpindi

Expect a hard-fought contest

Australia and South Africa brushed off poor pre-tournament results to record wins in their opening matches of the Champions Trophy and they meet each other with their batters in good form. Australia may be riding slightly higher after they completed the highest successful chase in tournament history - 352 - with 15 balls to spare. South Africa's 315 for 6 against Afghanistan resulted in victory by 107 runs and put them higher on the points table thanks to a bigger net run rate.

All that, combined with expectations of a batter-friendly pitch in Rawalpindi, means the bowling attacks can expect a tough day out after already being challenged by absences in personnel. Australia are missing more than South Africa with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all out of the tournament; but with Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee also ruled out, South Africa had to look elsewhere for express pace. Still, they've got five seamers and three spinners (if you include Aiden Markam) to choose from. Australia's squad make-up is similar and with Marnus Labuschagne turning his arm over, they have additional options, so the real point of difference may lie in selection and how the captains allocate overs to exert pressure on each other.

Victory will not guarantee either team progression to the semi-finals but will leave the winner primed to top the group so expect a contest that lives up to its billing, especially if the last one was anything to go by. In 2023, at the ODI World Cup semi-final, South Africa were restricted to an under-par total of 212 but had Australia seven down in the 48th when the winning runs were scored. That game had the tension of a low-scoring thriller, this one is likely to have the fireworks of a run fest. Whatever happens, given these two sides routinely bring out the most competitive streaks in each other, this will be one of the tournament's showpiece matches in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd.

In the spotlight: Ellis and van der Dussen

In a match where 707 runs were scored in 97.3 overs, conceding less than six runs an over was simply outstanding. That's what Nathan Ellis did for Australia against England, where his 10 overs cost just 51 runs in a display of immense control and maturity in just his tenth ODI. Ellis is unusual in that at 5 foot 9 he isn't as tall as we'd expect a fast bowler to be and relies on consistency and variety rather than pace to make an impact. While he may not be an outright attacking bowler, in a tournament where restricting batting sides in the middle overs has already proven to be important, how he performs in that phase could be decisive in Australia's campaign.

South Africa 'bullish' about their chances - like Australia always are

With a top order in good form and a powerful middle order, Rassie van der Dussen has the third-best ODI batting average of all time for South Africa and is among their most consistent performers despite a recent dip. His 46-ball 52 against Afghanistan was his first half-century in 11 innings, and van der Dussen may have started to feel the pressure of competition for his place. South Africa are choosing between Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi and van der Dussen for two of three top-order spots and also have Tristan Stubbs on the bench, so van der Dussen will want to do all he can to keep proving his worth.

"We might need to make 400 if we bat first," Alex Carey told a press conference in Rawalpindi on Monday, the day before Australia's Champions Trophy match against South Africa.

In Karachi on Friday, South Africa's 315/6 was enough to beat Afghanistan by 107 runs. On Saturday in Lahore, England scored 351/5 - which was the tournament's record total until Australia chased it down with five wickets standing and 15 balls to spare.

Whatever happens when the Aussies and South Africans clash in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, do not expect a target of less than 300. Four of the dozen innings in the competition so far have passed that mark. These are two of the heaviest hitting batting line-ups in the Champions Trophy. And two of the attacks who have been the most impacted by injuries and other issues.

Cue runs. Hundreds of them. Might the record aggregate in a men's ODI be in danger? That's an unsurprisingly tall order: it's currently 872.

But it isn't out of the question considering the likely conditions and the fact who set the record - Australia made 434/4 and South Africa replied with 438/9 with a ball to spare at the Wanderers in March 2006. That marked the first time 400 was breached. It's now happened 27 times.

Eight of those elephantine totals have been made by South Africa and two by Australia. India have done it seven times, England five times, Sri Lanka and New Zealand twice each, and Zimbabwe once.

The Aussies have conceded 400 three times and the South Africans twice. It's happened four times to West Indies, thrice to Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, twice to India, Pakistan and Ireland, and once to New Zealand, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, the United States and Bermuda.

Teams who have racked up 400 and more have won 24 of those 27 ODIs. Besides that outrageous day at the Wanderers in March 2006, the exceptions have been when Sri Lanka's 411/8 wasn't enough to hold India in Rajkot in December 2009, and at Chinnaswamy during the 2023 World Cup. DLS revised Pakistan's 401/6 to a target of 342 in 41 overs. New Zealand were 200/1 after 25.3 - 21 runs ahead of par at that stage - when the rain returned and stayed.

Carey was joking when he made his quip about needing 400, but there can be no missing the dark lining of seriousness in his silver cloud of humour. He knows, as everyone else involved will, that these teams have done it before and could do it again.

Especially as both teams have proven themselves as contenders for the semifinals. That wasn't certain when Australia arrived not only depleted but having lost all four of their previous ODIs. The South Africans had lost six on the bounce, albeit with teams weakened by injuries and franchise T20 commitments.

What with England, the other side in the group, having beaten in seven of the eight white-ball games they had played in India in the preceding 21 days, the Afghans - who had won eight of their previous 10 completed ODIs, including two of the three they played against South Africa in Sharjah in September - looked likely to sweep into the semis without fuss.

Friday's result ripped up that script, and Saturday's sharpened the focus on Tuesday's showdown. Not for the first time, Australia and South Africa will clash in a consequential match at an ICC event.

Victory will all but confirm a place in the final four. Defeat will make that team's last group game all but unloseable if they want to stay in the running. Rain could get in the way, but if it doesn't whoever bats first might indeed need 400.

Team news:

Australia

Not having Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis around didn't stop the Aussies from roaring to a rousing win over England. That should mean there's no reason to tamper with the XI.

Probable XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

South Africa

The elbow problem that kept Heinrich Klaasen out of the side who beat Afghanistan has not been resolved. He might have to sit out again.

Probable XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

When: February 25, 14:00 Local, 11:00 SAT, 14:30 IST

Where: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

What to expect: Another docile pitch. And rain: a 62% chance of showers forecast for the afternoon strengthens to 71% in the evening.

Did you know?

- Australia have lost four of their last five ODIs.

- South Africa have won only one of their last seven ODIs, but they have won four of the last five ODIs they have played against Australia.

- Australia have won six of the 10 matches between these teams in ICC ODI and T20I tournaments

What they said:

"It's an inexperienced attack, there's no hiding away from that. We've got some experience with our leg spinner, Adam Zampa. We've got Glenn Maxwell, who's really smart with how he bowls, and we've got Steve Smith, who's a fantastic captain. If we are to bat first throughout the tournament, I'll back our boys to defend a score of 300 plus. If not, Nathan Ellis has got a lot of tricks, Spencer Johnson's really damaging up the top, and so is Ben Dwarshuis. And we've got Sean Abbott ready to go. We've come into this tournament confident that our attack will do a fantastic job without the big three." - Alex Carey gives a masterclass in the thoroughly Australian virtue of talking a weakness into a strength.

"Any Australian outfit who come together for an ICC event is always one you don't take lightly. Yes, they don't have their mainstay attack. But they have enough to be successful. It could be a case of their batters doing more than what they're accustomed to. Probably in their bowling there are opportunities [to get on top], and if that presents itself we'll definitely look to make use of that." - Temba Bavuma sees through the smoke and mirrors.

Pitch and conditions

Before the start of this tournament, Rawalpindi had not hosted ODIs since April 2023, when Pakistan and New Zealand made scores of 288, 291, 336 and 337 in two matches. South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma and Carey said they expect another high-scoring encounter on what looks like a flat surface. Bavuma also revealed that South Africa noted significant dew during a training session at the venue over the weekend and both he and Carey expected chasing to be easier than defending a target. The weather will be cooler than in Karachi or Lahore with a high of just 17 degrees, and there is some drizzle forecast in the afternoon which could impact the match.

Australia vs South Africa pitch report

The pitch report will be broadcast live from Rawalpindi before Steve Smith and Temba Bavuma walk out for the toss. The pitch seemed equally helpful for batters and bowlers during the previous match between New Zealand and Bangladesh at this venue.

Australia vs South Africa weather forecast

Rain showers are predicted during the match hours at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The temperature shall stay around 17 degrees Celsius, with humidity levels expected to be in the range of 60%.

Stats and trivia

• Australia's chase of 352 against England was their second-highest successful chase in ODIs.
• In that game, Josh Inglis became the fourth Australian men's cricketer to complete a hundred in all formats, after Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner.
• Since 2016, South Africa have batted first 12 times against Australia in ODIs and lost only two of those matches. The most recent of these defeats was the semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
• Travis Head has scored 62 runs off 55 balls off Kagiso Rabada in ODIs and been dismissed by him three times. Against Lungi Ngidi, however, he's scored only 15 off 25 balls for two dismissals.
• Klaasen has scored 121 runs off 89 balls from Adam Zampa in ODIs and been dismissed twice by him.

Head to Head - Last 5 Matches

Australia won by 3 wickets (with 16 balls remaining), 16-Nov-2023

South Africa won by 134 runs, 12-Oct-2023

South Africa won by 122 runs, 17-Sep-2023

South Africa won by 164 runs, 15-Sep-2023

South Africa won by 111 runs, 12-Sep-2023

Head to head overall in ODIs

Played - 110

Australia won - 51

SA won - 55

Tied - 3

No Result: 1

Batters to watch(Recent stats)

Alex Carey, AUS

5 M • 274 Runs • 68.5 Avg • 107.45 SR

Josh Inglis, AUS

7 M • 252 Runs • 50.4 Avg • 107.69 SR

Heinrich Klaasen, SA

4 M • 351 Runs • 87.75 Avg • 130 SR

Ryan Rickelton, SA

5 M • 274 Runs • 54.8 Avg • 94.48 SR

Bowlers to watch(Recent stats)

Adam Zampa, AUS

9 M • 11 Wkts • 6.48 Econ • 37.27 SR

Aaron Hardie, AUS

8 M • 7 Wkts • 5.39 Econ • 35.14 SR

Lungi Ngidi, SA

7 M • 9 Wkts • 6.71 Econ • 34.66 SR

Kagiso Rabada, SA

3 M • 8 Wkts • 4.91 Econ • 21.37 SR