AB: We played well in patches

Cape Town - Proteas skipper AB de Villiers is happy with their win over New Zealand in Centurion but admits there is room for improvement.

Hashim Amla scored a South African record one-day century to set the Proteas up for a 20-run victory in the first of three ODIs.

Amla’s century (124 off 126 balls) was his 21st and thus equalled the South African ODI record held by Herschelle Gibbs.

Amla’s partnership of 185 for the second wicket with Rilee Rossouw (89 off 112 balls) was the essential difference between the two sides as the Kiwis were unable to put together a stand of similar magnitude and were bowled out for 284 in 48.1 overs.

"Very happy with the win, always happy with the win,” De Villiers said at the post-match press conference.

“We played well in patches but some very poor cricket in between. We didn't hit our straps and we need to do that on Sunday.

“It was (an) amazing set up by Hash (Amla) again. I thought it was hard to bat at the end, the ball got a little soft at the end, I thought we should have won by a bigger margin.

“I was a bit worried about our energy, but it happens when we have some new faces. Reverse swing went away as we changed the ball but we adapted well.”

Amla was duly awarded with the man-of-the-match accolade.

He commented: “Myself and Morne (van Wyk) found that it was quite hard initially. We found some runs early which released the pressure. I thought 250 was defendable at the interval. Rilee is an exceptional player and we learn from each other."

The second match in the three-game series will be played at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, on Sunday (10:00 start).