Amla ton pushes South Africa to 301

50 overs South Africa 301 for 8 (Amla 112, Kallis 72, de Villiers 52, Malinga 5-53) v Sri Lanka

South Africa's batsmen enjoyed themselves in Paarl despite the scorching heat as they ran up 301 on an easy-paced track. Hashim Amla highlighted why he's the world's top-ranked ODI batsman with his ninth century, and his two big partnerships with Jacques Kallis and new captain AB de Villiers powered South Africa on a pitch where both seam and spin proved elusive. Lasith Malinga then underscored his value to Sri Lanka, with a five-for that reined in South Africa towards the end of the innings.

It was Kallis who provided the impetus early on, as Amla searched for his customary fluency. Amla had several outside edges and mistimed pulls, but Kallis had few of those problems. A 15-ball spell that yielded only two runs was broken by an imperious Kallis six over long-on.

The pressure on Amla was also eased by Dilhara Fernando's wayward first over - after Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara had kept South Africa to 25 for 1 in six overs. Fernando sprayed a delivery for five leg-side wides and then presented a short ball, which Amla slashed to the point boundary in an over which cost 15.

Both batsmen used the steer to third man and the clip to square leg efficiently to keep the singles coming. They had sauntered to 69 for 1 in 15 overs before opening up in the bowling Powerplay, off which they took 37 runs. Ajantha Mendis proved ineffective as Amla, shaking off the early edginess, lashed him for three boundaries in two overs.

With Amla starting to unleash his trademark crisp drives through the off side, and Kallis carrying on from his double-century in the third Test, South Africa opted for the batting Powerplay unconventionally early. Kallis took consecutive cover-driven boundaries off Malinga to suggest a glut of runs while the fielding restrictions were on, but Kallis was run out soon after by a direct hit from Mahela Jayawardene at cover. There had been a similarly dangerous single attempted a few overs earlier as well, but on that occasion Amla survived as Tillakaratne Dilshan missed from point.

There was hardly a lull after Kallis' exit. Amla and de Villiers put together a 19-ball streak of singles before de Villiers became more enterprising, powering South Africa ahead with a series of lofted shots over cover and extra cover for fours. On a surface where the new batsmen needed time to get in, de Villiers raced to 50 off just 36 deliveries. Amla, meanwhile, calmly moved on to his century, celebrating the achievement with a gentle wave of the bat and helmet.

At 241 for 2 after 40 overs, South Africa seemed headed for at least 320. A Kulasekara yorker, though, removed the rampant de Villiers, before Malinga worked his magic to rip through the lower middle order. Albie Morkel's cameo, which included a stunning pull for six off Fernando, was halted at 25, Amla edged to the keeper and Faf du Plessis was bowled as the final six overs produced only 34 runs.

It still presented Sri Lanka's experienced batting a huge challenge, especially as the track was expected to slow down in the evening. There had also been concerns over the quality of floodlights at Boland Stadium, which could be another factor working against Sri Lanka.