As the venue basked in sunshine, the South Africans chose the platform to make a strong statement. The thin attendance at the Punjab Cricket Stadium was in keeping with the spectator response to non-India matches at this 2011 ICC World Cup, but not A.B. de Villiers and his batting. It has been exceptionally refreshing and entertaining.
South Africa's 231-run victory against The Netherlands was never to be doubted. Some cricket lovers may have anticipated an Ireland-like motivational show but then the South Africans are made of sterner stuff than the English.
They gladly accepted the Dutch invitation to bat first and shut the opposition out through centuries by Hasim Amla and de Villiers. The Netherlands, for all its claims of learning and improving, proved nothing but a minnow.
The knocks by Amla and Man-of-the-Match de Villiers had little in common. Amla was willing to wait; de Villiers looked to grab. Amla used the book to play his shots. de Villiers relished setting his own benchmarks.
It was rocking all the way and the result was a 221-run stand for the third wicket, which, incidentally was South Africa's highest for that wicket.
Lured by conditions
Overcast conditions and overnight rains lured the Dutch into bowling first but the South Africans were prepared. The runs did not come at a canter as expected. The Dutch bowled wicket-to-wicket and the South Africans chose to eschew their desire to play shots. The initial circumspection was misleading and the Dutch came to realise it once de Villiers and Amla took charge.
Amla's eighth century in ODIs and de Villiers's 11th suited the occasion. The bowlers had no control and containment too became a challenge for the fielding side as Amla and de Villiers systematically decimated the attack and the Dutch seemed to give up quickly.
The fluency with which de Villiers moves into top gear makes him the batsman to watch at this tournament. Hitting on the rise comes so naturally that de Villiers toys with the bowling; like he did on Thursday. Even when he played across the line, he connected well and hard.
The bowlers struggled to pitch in the right areas as de Villiers explored and experimented with style with ample to spare. His three sixes off Bernard Loots gave glimpses of his awesome potential to force the pace at will.
Grinding the attack
Amla is a champion at grinding the attack in Tests. He is no different in the shorter version. Five dot balls in a row don't worry him for he can pick the sixth and collect a boundary with a delightful display of skill.
A deft flick or a controlled glide can always scatter the field and Amla revels in it. His century was the strong base on which the South African innings progressed. The two perished in succession but the Dutch had been shut out of the game by then.
The Netherlands batting lacked the character that marked its performance against England at Nagpur. Ryan ten Doeschate, the hero against England, shone with the ball here. Opener Wesley Barresi was an exception to the Dutch capitulation with a sedate 44. The rest were an embarrassment.
Scoreboard
South Africa: H. Amla c Cooper b ten Doeschate 113 (130b, 8x4), G. Smith b Loots 20 (32b, 1x4), J. Kallis c Barresi b ten Doeschate 2 (12b), A.B. de Villiers (run out) 134 (98b, 13x4, 4x6), F du Plesis (not out) 18 (14b, 1x4), J.P. Duminy c Borren b ten Doeschate 40 (2x4, 4x6), M. van Wyk (not out) 0 (0b); Extras(b-2, lb-5, nb-1, w-16): 24; Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 351.
Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-58, 3-279, 4-283, 5-349.
The Netherlands bowling: Bukhari 10-0-44-0, Westdijk 9-0-76-0, ten Doeschate 10-0-72-3, Loots 9-0-60-1, Seelaar 10-0-74-0, Cooper 2-0-18-0.
The Netherlands: A. Kervezee c & b Kallis 10 (18b, 1x4), W. Barresi st. van Wyk b Duminy 44 (6bb, 5x4), T. Cooper c Steyn b Kallis 9 (21b, 1x4), B. Zuiderent lbw b Peterson 15 (26b,1x4, 1x6), R. ten Doeschate lbw b Steyn 11 (21b), T. de Grooth (run out) 12 (26b), P. Borren lbw b Peterson 3 (13b), M. Bukhari b Tahir 0 (4b), P. Seelar (not out) 2 (5b), B. Loots lbw b Tahir 6 (7b, 1x6), B. Westdijk lbw b Tahir 0; Extras (w-8): 8; Total (in 34.5 overs): 120.
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-46, 3-81, 4-83, 5-100, 6-109, 7-109, 8-110, 9-120.
South Africa bowling: Steyn 6-1-26-1, Morkel 5-0-18-0, Kallis 6-0-19-2, Tahir 6.5-0-19-3, Peterson 5-0-22-2, Duminy 6-0-16-1.
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