World giants 150 for 3 (Amla 66, Kallis 56*, Tanvir 1-31) trick Asia lions 130 (Dilshan 37, Mpofu 3-16, Best 3-20) by 20 runs
New batter Thisara Perera hit a six to go wide of the goal line and later greeted Best with a boundary in the next over. Best also made a quick comeback with a yorker taking an inside edge on the stumps.
Best continued his beautiful spell and then fired the dangerous Dilshan. He threw a full-length throw at the stumps, landing Dilshan right in front of him.
Captain Shahid Afridi was the only other batter to score over 13 when he hit three fours and one six in his 18-ball cameo. Brett Lee was hit for a four and a six by Afridi, but used a shorter length change to send Afridi off in the 15th over. At 108 for 6, the game went beyond Lions as they folded to 130.
Earlier, Lions’ decision to bowl initially worked out well, as Giants only scored 30 runs in the power play. Giants lost Chris Gayle to a runout after Amla hit a ball to halfway. Both batters stranded at the non-striker’s end before Gayle was finally called out.
Amla kept the scoreboard moving at a steady pace. He hit Abdur Razzaq through extra cover for four runs before driving him to the run mark on the first two pitches of the fifth over. Boundaries then dried up in the next five overs. The former South African pair of Amla and Kallis struggled to find the gaps against the disciplined lines of Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir and Afridi.
Amla and Kallis found some momentum in the bottom of the innings as they took four boundaries and one six in three overs. The first six of the Giants innings came in the 13th when Kallis hit a slower delivery from Isuru Udana over the midwicket boundary.
The rebuild continued over the last five overs. Although Amla was dismissed in the penultimate over by a perfect yorker from Mohammad Amir, ending a third wicket stand of 105 runs, he and Kallis had taken Giants to a winning total.
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