South Africa batsman Hashim Amla has said that their three-wicket win over Australia on a day that marked his 100th ODI for the nation was the perfect gift.
Amla became the 18th South African to reach the milestone during a six-year career decorated by impressive records and achievements. He said that when they bowled Australia out for 150-odd they thought it was a good score to restrict them to and felt they were favourites to win.
Amla said that to scrap out to get that kind of victory, which was closer than they thought, was a lovely feeling, especially in his 100th game, Sport24 reported.
Amla made his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2008 and, although many questioned his aptitude in the ODI format during his early days, he managed to quell the criticism to cement his position as one of the best batsmen on the current world stage.
In light of his debut he said that it was quite hot in Bangladesh and South Africa won that game as well. He added that emotions were okay because he had played a few Test matches before so the international scene wasn't too foreign for him.
Amla said that when one first starts off ones mindset is about taking each game as it comes, and added that he is grateful to all his teammates over the years and to the current team, basically all those that he has played with before.
Amla admitted that it's been a wonderful 100 matches.