London: A fantastic bowling perofrmance by the England bowlers followed by some brilliant batting by Jonathan Trott (82 off 84 balls) and Joe Root (48 off 71 balls) helped England beat South Africa by seven wickets and reach the semi-finals of ICC Champions Trophy here on Wednesday.
England bowlers were at the helm of things from the very start and by the end of two overs had reduced the South Africans to 4 for 2. By the end of 20th over South Africa had already lost their six bastmen, including Ingram, Amla, Peterson, de Villeirs, Duminny and Plessis. Tottering at 80 for 8, it was some fritty batting from David Miller (56), who in the company of tail-ender Rory Kleinveldt (43) added 95 runs for the ninth wicket in 16 overs.
James Anderson (2/14) and Steven Finn (1/45) excelled with the two new balls and were duly complemented by Stuart Broad (3/50) and off-spinner James Tredwell, (3/19).
Chasing the target, though England lost their openers early, Jonathan Trott (82 not out) and Joe Root (48) batted sensibly to steer the hosts to safety with their 105-run stand for the third wicket.
England will now play the winner of tomorrow's semifinal between World Champions India and Sri Lanka in the summit clash on June 23 at Birmingham.