New Delhi, February 18 Dewald Brevis warmed up nicely with some spectacular sixes as South Africa barely broke a sweat during a walk-in-the-park six-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates in their final group league fixture of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
Chasing a target of 123, the Proteas cruised to victory in 13.1 overs, with Aiden Markram smashing 28 off 11 balls to set the stage for the young Brevis, who also contributed 36 off 25 balls.
Ryan Rickleton hit some powerful sixes to score 30 off 16 balls in a strong all-round effort.
With the crucial Super Eights match against India coming up on Sunday, South Africa needed Brevis to perform, and he certainly had a good session out in the middle.
The pull off a bouncer from left-arm seamer Muhammad Jawadullah was a treat to watch.
Brevis quickly pulled the ball from above eye level into the top tier of the square leg stand. When left-arm spinner Haider Ali tossed the ball outside off stump, Brevis hit it over extra cover into the Hill B of the Feroz Shah Kotla stands.
These two shots were indicators that Brevis was in top form. He then dispatched a slower ball from Mohammed Arfan into the cow corner, helping South Africa to wrap up the victory quickly.
Earlier, young Alishan Sharafu had a charmed life with double reprieves, but Anrich Nortje, playing his first match of the tournament, bowled with pace and accuracy to restrict UAE to 122 for 6 in the stipulated 20 overs.
With Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen rested before the India game in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Nortje (2/28 in 4 overs) and Corbin Bosch (3/12 in 4 overs) bowled short and fast consistently, as the UAE batting unit never really looked in control of the situation.
While Sharafu managed a 45 off 38 balls with five fours and a six, he was fortunate due to the 'butter-fingered' Proteas fielders, who dropped two catches.
With overcast conditions and floodlights being switched on, Aiden Markram made the right decision to bowl first and unleash his pace battery on the weaker opposition, making use of the underlying moisture.
Although captain Muhammad Waseem (22 off 12 balls) and Aryansh Sharma managed to hit a few boundaries, it was left-arm spinner George Linde who got the first breakthrough.
Waseem went for a sweep on a fuller delivery and was left stranded in front of the wicket.
Once the powerplay was over, the UAE batters, apart from Sharafu's attacking strokes, struggled to cope with the pace and bounce.
Sohaib Khan, who had consecutive half-centuries against Canada and Afghanistan, had no clue when Bosch let one fly, and all he could do was nick it to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps.
The fact that the UAE hit 10 boundaries in all, with Sharafu and Waseem contributing nine cumulatively, indicates how they struggled.
Just when the UAE innings ended, a steady drizzle forced the ground staff to cover the centre square.