Sanju Samson blasted a century off 47 balls as India cruised to a 61-run win over South Africa in the first T20 international in Durban.
This was the first meeting between the teams since the T20 World Cup final in June, but unlike that match in Bridgetown, which India won by just seven runs, this was a much more one-sided affair.
Samson’s second consecutive T20 hundred proved the biggest difference between the sides as he helped India post an impressive 202-8.
The wicketkeeper-batsman’s batting of 107 included 10 sixes and seven fours, while seamer Gerald Coetzee finished off the selection of South African bowlers with 3-37.
South Africa struggled to find momentum in their response as several players were given a start but were unable to kick through.
Heinrich Klaasen top scored with 25, but when both he and David Miller fell to Varun Chakravarthy, who claimed 3-25, in the 12th the Proteas’ cause looked hopeless.
That proved to be the case as Varun’s fellow spinner Ravi Bishnoi rattled their lower order on the way to 3-28 as the hosts were dismissed for 141.
The sides meet again on Sunday in the second of four T20s at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.