Cape Town - Hashim Amla recorded his highest score in T20 international cricket to power the Proteas to 178/4 off 20 overs in the final clash against Australia at Newlands on Wednesday night.
Amla played some exquisite shots all around the ground in his innings of 97 not out off 62 balls (8x4, 4x6) as South Africa posted a highly competitive total that will be difficult to chase under cloudy skies at Newlands, which is likely to result in some extra swing for the Proteas bowlers.
Amla’s 97 not out is the highest T20I score of all time at Newlands, and is also the best mark by a South African batsman against Australia in this format.
Quinton de Kock and Amla got their team off to a rollicking start as the six-over powerplay yielded 68/1 for the Proteas, with De Kock succumbing for 25 off 13 balls (4x4, 1x6) to Nathan Coulter-Nile as he went for another big hit and sliced it to John Hastings at third man.
Skipper Faf du Plessis, who won the toss and chose to bat first, didn’t last long as he was undone by an excellent Shane Watson slower ball, which he chipped to James Faulkner at short mid-on to be out for four.
Rilee Rossouw struggled to get the ball off the square and hit just one boundary in his 21-ball 16, but it was Amla who kept things going for the South Africans. The wristy right-hander showed off his full repertoire of strokes as he played a few delicate late cuts to third man, played a delightful lofted cover drive over extra cover and ended the innings with a ruthless pull off Faulkner over midwicket for a six.
Amla received good support down the order from David Miller, who smashed 30 off 16 balls (2x4, 2x6).
The Proteas made three changes to their team, with Amla replacing De Villiers, Rossouw coming in for Farhaan Behardien and Kyle Abbott starting in place of Chris Morris.
Teams For Newlands
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (captain), JP Duminy, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, David Wiese, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill, Adam Zampa, John Hastings, Nathan Coulter-Nile.