2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Twitter Lauds Hashim Amla’s Record-Breaking Hundred Against Sri Lanka 1

Twittersphere was filled-up with praise as senior South African batsman Hashim Amla registered his 25th record-breaking hundred to see him going past Team India captain Virat Kohli at the scenic Kennington Oval stadium on Saturday.

South Africa set a target of exactly 300 for Upul Tharanga-led Sri Lanka, in the third match of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval on Saturday, after riding on a sublime hundred of Hashim Amla.

Amla was the top scorer for the Proteas, as he returned to the pavilion after posting 115-ball 103. He smashed four boundaries and two sixes as South Africa posted 299 for six on the board. Jean-Paul Duminy remained unbeaten on 20-ball 38, as Wayne Parnell scored seven off eight balls.

For Sri Lanka, Nuwan Pradeep claimed two wickets, whereas, Suranga Lakmal and Seekkuge Prasanna claimed a wicket each.

After being invited to bat first, AB de Villiers-led Proteas had a slow start, as they lost their first wicket in the form of southpaw Quinton de Kock when South Africa was 44 for one in 12.1 overs. The wicket-keeper batsman de Kock was dismissed by Nuwan Pradeep at the score of 23 off 42 balls.

Amla alongside Faf du Plessis put on a 145-run partnership for the second wicket which further saw Sri Lankan wearing a grim look. Du Plessis was undone by Nuwan Pradeep when Dinesh Chandimal completed a simple catch after latter scored brilliant 70-ball 75. Skipper AB de Villiers (4 off 4 balls), was dismissed cheaply by leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna, as Chamara Kapugedera completed a skier when de Villiers tried to whack the ball into the stands.

Another promising prospect in the middle-order David Miller was caught by Prasanna on the bowling of Lakmal. The hard-hitting sensation scored 18 off 22 deliveries. All-rounder Chris Morris (20 off 19) returned to the pavilion after a direct throw from stand-in skipper Tharanga found him short of his crease.

Earlier, Sri Lankan stand-skipper Upul Tharanga decided to bowl first in their 2017 ICC Champions Trophy opener against AB de Villiers-led South Africa at the Oval in the first game of Group A.

Alongside South Africans, Sri Lankans players walked out on the ground for the national anthem with black arm bands on as a mark of respect for the loss of lives which were claimed recently in the worst floods on the Island.

Sri Lankan skipper and all-rounder, Angelo Mathews was rested, as he has been struggling with his hamstring since January 2017. Interestingly, the Lions struggled against South Africa as they have so far lost seven ODIs on the trot.

Adding to the stat, in over-all ICC Champions Trophy contests, South Africa is leading Sri Lanka by 2-1. Interestingly, it was the fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who made his return after playing his last ODI in November 2015.

On the other side, AB de Villiers picked Morne Morkel with an aim of bolstering the bowling attack with World No. 1 Kagiso Rabada, followed by leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

Here’re the tweets from the Twittersphere for a match between Sri Lanka and South Africa at The Oval:

https://twitter.com/yousaf1788/status/870991507444047873

https://twitter.com/Chaudharyysaab/status/870985603432591361

 

Tahir Ibn Manzoor

Tahir Ibn Manzoor, who tweets @TahirIbnManzoor (https://twitter.com/TahirIbnManzoor) - works as an editor for Sportzwiki.com. He has a great affection for longform feature writing. He completed his masters...