De Villiers sparkles as Proteas trounce Afghanistan in World T20

Mumbai: South Africa’s swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers smashed a quick-fire half-century before bowling unit came in fore to strengthen their side to a 37-run win over minnows Afghanistan in their World T20 clash here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, South Africa made a promising start, with opener Quinton De Kock scoring a blistering knock of 45 runs to provide his side with an initial thrust.

Losing Hashim Amla for just five runs, De Kock and skipper Faf du Plessis (41) then steadied the innings as they stitched a 65-run partnership for the second wicket.

Meanwhile, De Villiers smashed four boundaries and five sixes as he made 64 runs in just 29 balls to power his side to post a huge target of 210 runs for Afghanistan.

JP Duminy (unbeaten 29) was another notable scorer for the Proteas.

In reply, Afghanistan , who made a solid start with openers Mohammad Shahzad (44) and Noor Ali Zardan (25) sharing a 52-run partnership for opening stand, failed to counter Proteas’ bowling attack for long and were eventually bundled out for 172 on the final ball of the innings.

For Du Plessis’ side, Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with brilliant figures of 4-27 while Kagiso Rabada , Kyle Abbott and Imran Tahir also gobbled up with six wickets.

South Africa, which suffered a two-wicket defeat against England in their campaign opener, have now gained two points in the Group A table.

They will next lock horns West Indies at Vidarbha Cricket Ground on March 25. (ANI)