Amla celebrates after scoring his 21st ODI century
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
South Africa opener Hashim Amla scored 124 to lead the Proteas to a 20-run win over New Zealand in the first ODI in Centurion.
Amla was well supported by batsman Rilee Rossouw, who made 89.
However, New Zealand opener Tom Latham deserves some credit as he made a valiant 60.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson would have been pondering over his decision to bowl first as South Africa got off to a solid start before losing Morne van Wyk for 16.
Amla and Rossouw took over from that point on and punished New Zealand by amassing a 185-
run partnership, during which Amla brought up his 21st ODI century and Rossouw his half-century, before Rossouw was clean bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan.
Rossouw’s excellent knock of 89 came off 112 balls and included six boundaries and three sixes.
Rossouw hit six boundaries and three sixes during his knock of 89
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
South Africa lost captain AB de Villiers soon after before Amla fell for a superb 124, which came off 126 deliveries and included 13 boundaries and three sixes.
Following Amla’s dismissal, South Africa’s middle order collapsed and, as a result, they were restricted to 304/7 off their 50 overs.
McClenaghan and Adam Milne picked up two wickets apiece, while James Neesham chipped in with one.
Chasing 305 to win, Latham rose to the task by scoring 60 off 80 balls, which included four boundaries and a six. However, the problem was that none of the other batsmen were able to convert their positive starts into bigger scores.
Latham made a gutsy 60
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
This was clearly the case for Williamson, who made 47, Neesham, who scored 41, and Colin Munro, who accumulated 33 runs.
Due to this, New Zealand fell short of their target and were left wondering what could have been if their batsmen had not thrown their wickets away at pivotal moments in the match.
Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, David Wiese and Imran Tahir snapped up two wickets apiece, while Kagiso Rabada claimed one.
Williamson was disappointed to have lost the match, and said: “The way the boys stuck at it with the ball was a good effort. It’s always a fine line with white ball cricket. If we could have carried a partnership or two, it would have been interesting. But we were outplayed. Some areas to touch on and SA are a top side and we had to be at our best to beat them. It’s always about adapting.”
De Villiers was pleased to have taken a 1-0 lead in the series, and said: “Very happy with the win, always happy with the win. We played well in patches but some very poor cricket in between. We didn’t hit our straps and we need to do that on Sunday. Amazing set up by Hash again. I thought it was hard to bat at the end, the ball got a little soft at the end, I thought we should have won by a bigger margin. I was a bit worried about our energy, but it happens when we have some new faces. Reverse swing went away as we changed the ball but we adapted well.”
Amla was named Man of the Match, and said: “Myself and Morne found that it was quite hard initially. We found some runs early which released the pressure. I thought 250 was defendable at the interval. Rilee is an exceptional player and we learn from each other.”