Reeza Hendricks once again shone with the bat as he struck a brilliant 73 to help South Africa topple Ireland by 21 runs in their T20I opener on Wednesday.
Riding on a red-hot form, Hendricks became just the sixth batter in the men's T20I history to smash four fifties.
It was Hendricks' fourth fifty on the trot, with the 32-year-old joining greats of the game such as West Indies star Chris Gayle and New Zealand legend Brendon McCullum as batters to have achieved the feat at men's T20I level.
Players to have scored four consecutive T20I half-centuries
Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) 2008, 2009
Chris Gayle (West Indies) 2012
Craig Williams (Namibia) 2021
Rayyankhan Pathan (Canada) 2021
Gustav McKeon (France) 2022
Reeza Hendricks (South Africa) 2022
Hendricks, with a stunning 53-ball knock, was adjudged the 'Player of the Match' to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. After electing to bat first, the Proteas lost the early wickets of Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, but they made a stupendous comeback from there on.
Hendricks and Aiden Markram stitched together a partnership of 112 runs for the third wicket and helped South Africa post a daunting target of 212 for Ireland to chase down. Hendricks went on to score 74 runs off 53 balls with the help of 10 fours and one six.
Markram, on the other hand, was the more attacking batter as he racked up a 27-ball 56 with two fours and as many as five sixes. Tristan Stubbs also played a decent 24-run cameo.
The opener shared a third-wicket partnership of 112 with Markram, who hit 56 from just 27 deliveries.
Spin bowler Gareth Delany claimed the wickets of Hendricks and Markram from consecutive balls in the 16th over.
In Ireland's chase, No. 3 Lorcan Tucker managed seven fours and five sixes in an impressive knock of 78 from 38 deliveries, and George Dockrell added 43. The pair fell in the space of three balls, however, to Tabraiz Shamsi and Dwaine Pretorius respectively.
Ireland finished on 190 for nine. The second T20 is Friday.
