Proteas put in solid performance to see off Canada in T20 World Cup opener

After being inserted to bat first at the toss, captain Markram looked in impressive form as he struck 59 from 32 balls the Proteas reached a total of 213-4 in their 20 overs.

The skipper received good support from opening partner Quinton de Kock, who was not at his fluent best but scored a workmanlike 25 from 22 deliveries.

Ryan Rickelton, in his postion at number 3, looked good for his 33 but was caught on the boundary off spinner Ansh Patel (3-31).

Dewald Brevis (6) failed to get going and gave Patel his third wicket as the Proteas slipped from 126-1 to 138-4 in the 14th over.

David Miller and Tristan Stubbs then combined for an unbeaten partnership of 75 from 39 balls that took the Proteas well beyond the 200-run mark.

Miller hit a four and three sixes in a 23-ball 39 while Stubbs, preferred over Jason Smith in the number 6 slot, scored 34 not out off 19 balls.

Ngidi then gave the South Africans the perfect start in the second innings, nicking off Canadian skipper Dilpreet Bajwa with the very first delivery.

The seamer then nipped out Yuvraj Samra and Nicholas Kirton, and when Kagiso Rabada removed Shreyas Movva, Canada found themselves at 45-4.

Navneet Dhaliwal struck a defiant 64 from 49 balls and received decent support down the order from Harsh Thaker (33).

Ngidi though came back and finished with figures of 4-31 while Marco Jansen took 2-30. Rabada and Corbin Bosch took a wicket apiece as Canada reached 156-8 in 20 overs.

The Proteas now gear up for a more challenging encounter when they take on Afghanistan at the same venue on Wednesday.

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