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Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers guide South Africa to 6-wicket win vs New Zealand in 1st T20I at Durban

South Africa pulled off a comfortable victory to take a 1-0 lead against New Zealand.

South Africa celebrate the fall of Grant Elliott's wicket © Getty Images
South Africa celebrate the fall of Grant Elliott’s wicket © Getty Images

South Africa clinched a six-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) against New Zealand at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday. The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series as a result, with Hashim Amla (48), Rilee Rossouw (38) and skipper AB de Villiers (33) masterminding the chase with two consecutive 50-run partnerships that took the game away from the Black Caps. The trio of David Wiese (2 for 24), Kagiso Rabada (2 for 28) and Aaron Phangiso (2 for 29) were clinical in restricting the Black Caps to 151 for 8 from 20 overs after a good start by Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill. SCORECARD: South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st T20I at Durban

South Africa were off to a slow start in the early phases of the innings, before Morne Van Wyk and Hashim Amla, before the former tore Mitchell McClenaghan with two fours and a six in the fourth over to propell the hosts off in their chase. He was dismissed shortly thereafter on 19, when he offered a catch to George Worker, who fumbled for a bit, off the bowling of Doug Bracewell for the Proteas to lose their first wicket with 35 runs on board.  UPDATES: South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st T20I at Durban

Skipper AB de Villiers walked to the crease with the responsibility of guiding his side to victory on his shoulders, Having formed many a valuable partnership with Amla in the past, de Villiers was slow early in his innings before solidly sending the ball towards the boundaries to get the Proteas well on their way towards the target. He ultimately perished after ambitiously slogging towards deep square-leg, where Nathan McCullum completed the catch. The dismissal occurred right after the completion of the 50-partnership between him and Amla. READ: New Zealand innings report

Rossouw walked to the crease thereafter, as he steadied the innings with Amla with the singles and the twos along with an occasional welcome boundary. The pair eventually began to accelerate the innings thereafter, with Rossouw smashing four boundaries and two sixes and Amla nearing his half-century. The pair could not finish the game for their side however, falling in a space of a few deliveries even as the target was just a couple of hits away. In the end, it was Farhaan Behardien who had the honour of hitting the winning runs, smashing Milne towards backward point as South Africa completed their win.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 151 for 8 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 42, Kane Williamson 42; David Wiese 2 for 24 Kagiso Rabada 2 for 28, Aaron Phangiso 2 for 29) lost to South Africa 152 for 4 in 17.5 overs (Hashim Amla 48, AB de Villiers 33, Rilee Rossouw 38; Doug Bracewell 1 for 17) by 6 wickets.

Man of the Match: Aaron Phangiso

Full Scorecard

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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