Amla Guides South Africa To Opening Win

Amla Guides South Africa To Opening Win

Hashim Amla batted throughout the innings for South Africa.

©REUTERS/Nigel Marple. Picture Supplied by Action Images

South Africa 209-3 (Amla 88no) beat
Bangladesh 170-8 (Rahim 50no) by 39 runs.
Tri-Nations Twenty20 Tournament, Harare

South Africa’s batting proved too strong for Bangladesh as they got their triangular series in Harare off to a winning start with a 39-run win.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, South Africa raced to 70 without loss in the seventh over, as Richard Levi blasted 37 from only 21 balls and partnered skipper Hashim Amla. Colin Ingram (29 from 22 balls), Albie Morkel (22 from 18) and JP Duminy (23 not out from seven) all partnered Amla at various stages in the innings and added partnerships of 65, 60 and 24 respectively, with Amla ending unbeaten on 88 from 53 balls as his side closed on 209 for three.

Bangladeshi medium-pacer Abul Hasan bore the brunt of the onslaught, conceding 58 runs from his four overs, while Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak also conceded more than 10 runs an over.

The Tigers lost Anamul Haque to Marchant de Lange in the third over of their reply, but Mushfiqur Rahim ensured against maximum embarrassment for his side by making 50 not out from 32 balls, while Mohammad Ashraful (33 from 31) and Mahmudullah (34 from 23) made handy contributions.

Robin Peterson was the pick of South Africa’s attack. Opening the bowling, he ended with two for 16 from his four overs, with de Lange also picking up a brace of wickets. However, their performance was far from perfect, with some uncharacteristically shoddy fielding and expensive bowling from Wayne Parnell (none for 61) on view.

The next match in the series is tomorrow, when hosts Zimbabwe take on South Africa.

© Cricket World 2012