Batting record for ‘amazing Amla’
SOUTH Africa skipper AB de Villiers has hailed the “amazing” Hashim Amla after the Proteas opener set yet another batting record on Saturday when he became the fastest player in history to reach 25 ODI hundreds.
Amla’s latest masterpiece, in just his 151st ODI innings, was the mainstay of South Africa’s 299/6, a commanding total that proved too much for Sri Lanka’s batsmen to chase down.
“It was an amazing innings,” De Villiers said.
“Both of them (Amla and opening partner Quinton de Kock) normally bat around a hundred strike rate without even trying, so that told the story.”
In terms of the number of innings required to reach the 25-century milestone, Amla is comfortably out on his own. To put his achievement in context: Virat Kohli, acknowledged as perhaps the complete ODI run maker of the century, required 162 innings; Sachin Tendulkar 234, Ricky Ponting 279, and Kumar Sangakkara 379. Amla needed 151. His 103 from 115 balls, only ended with a runout, contained five fours and two effortless sixes.
He now boasts 51 international hundreds across Test and ODI formats. Moreover, he likes batting at The Oval: it was here in 2012 that he batted for two days to compile 311* in a Test match. “He’s an amazing player and a great asset for us,” de Villiers said. “And not just on the field but off the field. He’s a great human being. I’m so happy for him, all the runs he’s scoring. Hopefully, we have many more years of it.”
For all Amla’s serene brilliance, it was Imran Tahir who claimed the Man of the Match award. A four-wicket intervention – including a superb googly in his first over to befuddle Chamara Kapugedera – plus a direct hit from mid-on to remove Suranga Lakmal, was enough to claim the award and in the process reassert his position as one of the champion ODI bowlers of his era.
“It was close to 10 out of 10,” De Villiers said of Tahir’s performance. “Not only with the ball in hand but that runout. It always shows me where the player is at when he shows that kind of dedication and commitment on the field. Immy is a great asset. He takes wickets and is also economical most of the time.”
Tahir also possesses one of cricket’s more distinctive celebrations. “Ah, it’s great to see,” De Villiers said of the trademark “Tahir tearaway” celebration that invariably finishes somewhere out at deep mid-wicket.
AB de Villiers, who pulled off a stunning catch and run-out to contribute to a convincing victory, sees only good things for his team in the ICC Champions Trophy.
South Africa take on Pakistan at 1.30 pm today in the second match of the tournament.