Rilee Rossouw scored a breezy 78 to lead South Africa to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Australia in the first of three Twenty20 internationals on Wednesday.
Rossouw, making his T20 international debut, smashed three sixes and seven fours in his 50-ball knock to get the Proteas home with 145 for three. The Australians could only manage 144 for six off their 20 overs after winning the toss at the Adelaide Oval.
South Africa lost Reeza Hendricks off the third ball of the innings but Rossouw combined with wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock (46 off 39 balls) to put on a match-winning 129-run partnership for the second wicket.
By the time Rossouw skied Pat Cummins to Ben Cutting in the 15th over, the Proteas only needed 16 runs for victory.
“Fortunately for me, tonight was my night,” Rossouw said.
“You’ve got to be on top of your game and if it’s your night you have to capitalise.
“It’s very nice batting with Quinton, it takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders.
“Every opportunity I get I want to shine and luckily for me tonight was my night.”
The Proteas’ well-drilled bowling and outstanding fielding kept the Australians under pressure with Shane Watson, in his first international appearance for seven months, top-scoring with 47 off 36 balls.
Watson’s innings, with support from James Faulkner (41 not out), revived the home side after a poor start.
The Australians struggled to 67 for four after 10 overs with both their international debutants, Ben Dunk and Nathan Reardon, failing.
Dunk made just two and Reardon four after opening batsmen Aaron Finch (14) and Cameron White (24 from 21 balls) had begun briskly.
“I thought we were pretty disappointing with the bat. It was a beautiful wicket and the guys at the top of the order didn’t really go on and get that big score,” said Finch, Australia’s T20 captain.
“There were a lot of starts and it was disappointing to get out like that, but the way we fought with the ball was pretty impressive.”
The openers took 27 from the initial three overs before tight bowling and brilliant fielding stifled the Aussies.
White cracked an uppish cut only for Farhaan Behardien to snaffle a superb overhead catch at point, while Reardon’s debut dig was spectacularly cut short by Proteas wicketkeeper de Kock.
Paceman Kyle Abbott was the pick of the South African bowlers with three for 21 off four overs.
Australia must win the second match in Melbourne on Friday to keep the series alive until Sunday’s third and final game in Sydney.
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
The five pillars of Islam
Company profile
Company name: Shipsy
Year of inception: 2015
Founders: Soham Chokshi, Dhruv Agrawal, Harsh Kumar and Himanshu Gupta
Based: India, UAE and Indonesia
Sector: logistics
Size: more than 350 employees
Funding received so far: $31 million in series A and B rounds
Investors: Info Edge, Sequoia Capital’s Surge, A91 Partners and Z3 Partners
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: Eghel De Pine, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Sheaar, Szczepan Mazur, Saeed Al Shamsi
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA) Group 3 Dh500,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Torch, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,600m | Winner: Forjatt, Chris Hayes, Nicholas Bachalard
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 1,400m | Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Ridha ben Attia
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Qader, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roaulle
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now