Credit: ICC
Aiden Markram left the field midway during his team’s ongoing encounter against England in the Champions Trophy 2025. In the 31st over of the match, the 30-year-old faced discomfort in his right hamstring which forced him to return to the dugout. Markram participated in the game as a stand-in skipper after regular skipper Temba Bavuma couldn’t show up due to illness. Prior to the game, luck didn’t favour Markram as England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. However, Buttler’s decision didn’t work for England as they could rack up only 179 runs after playing 38.2 overs. With this score, England recorded the lowest total of the competition.
The extent of Markram’s injury is yet to be known but he might not be seen in action in the second innings of the game. In case of emergency, the Protea might walk onto the field to bat for his side. Following Markram’s departure, Heinrich Klaasen took the captaincy mantle and he has fulfilled the responsibility effectively so far.
South Africa reserve their semi-final berth
South Africa bundled out England at a score of 179 and became the fourth team to qualify for the knockouts. After batting first, the English team were required to win the game by 207 runs to end the Protea side’s journey in the tournament. However, South Africa bowlers exhibited discipline and outsmarted England batters.
With this development, Afghanistan’s journey also concluded in the tournament. From Group B, Australia qualified for the semi-finals after their match with the Afghan team ended in no result. South Africa will look to chase down the low score against England comfortably to end their group stage at the top of the points tally.
