East London, Jan 14 : South Africa’s opening batsman Hashim Amla has said the Proteas would not take the second one-day international lightly after they beat Sri Lanka by 258 runs in the opening game of the five-match series.
Amla is expected to open the batting for the hosts in the second ODI in East London on Saturday.
“If we were in the same position, we would be quite motivated to put in a better performance,” he said.
“Taking their motivation into account, we know the Sri Lankans will come back firing as they did in the second Test. They’re a proud team with a lot of heritage, so we’re not going to take them lightly,” Amla said.
Amla was forced to captain the ODI team against Australia in October after newly appointed skipper AB de Villiers picked up a hand injury, Sport24 reports.
Returning to his role as deputy, he scored a century in the first ODI in Paarl, and said he was a lot more comfortable and had less to worry about.
“I have less on my plate but I just try to take things simply. When you get a partnership going, it’s always easier to score and Jacques [Kallis] and I complemented each other at the time,” he said.
Amla also said it was vital for the younger players in the squad to gel with the team, adding that there was a positive mood in the camp after their convincing victory in Paarl.
© ANI
