Narine six-for keeps South Africa to 188

Narine six-for keeps South Africa to 188

PROVIDENCE (GUYANA) - Sunil Narine snared career-best figures of six for 27 on his return to West Indies colours as South Africa were dismissed for 188 batting first in the opening match of the Tri-Nation One-Day International series at the Guyana National Stadium on Friday.

Sunil Narine celebrates dismissing South Africa's Farhaan Behardien by a leg before wicket (LBW) during the first One-day International cricket match in Georgetown, Guyana on June 3, 2016

Forced to remodel his action after it was deemed illegal during the Caribbean side's last ODI campaign in Sri Lanka last November, the 28-year-old mystery spinner was at his mesmerising best on a turgid surface where the South Africans found it difficult to establish any sort of momentum despite two useful partnerships at the top of the order.

Rilee Rossouw topscored with 61 and featured in a 78-run third-wicket partnership with skipper AB de Villiers. That effort followed an opening stand of 52 between Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla. However the Proteas collapsed from the comparative comfort of 160 for three, their last seven wickets falling for just 28 runs with Narine befuddling the South African middle and lower order.

Rossouw was one of the spinner's scalps, falling to a good low catch by Carlos Brathwaite at first slip. Brathwaite had earlier broken the opening stand of de Kock and Amla, de Kock attempting an injudicious heave to be comprehensively bowled.

Narine then made his first strike by trapping Amla leg-before in the very next over.

Yet it was the demise of de Villiers that proved to be the most crucial. Playing well within himself and being mindful of the challenging batting conditions, he compiled 31 off 49 deliveries without a single boundary but fell to a good catch off his own bowling by pacer Jerome Taylor at the start of the 31st over.

South Africa had just ended a period of 23 overs without finding the boundary rope and it appeared de Villiers and Rossouw were on the cusp of acceleration before the captain’s departure.

From then on it was the Narine show as he scythed through the rest of the visitors' batting to put the West Indies on course for their first home victory in an ODI over South Africa for 15 years.

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