South African Hashim Amla is into his 'century' of Tests when he took guard against Sri Lanka in the third Test between the two countries in Johannesburg. He is the eighth South African to appear in 100 Test matches.
South Africa has won the previous two Tests convincingly. In the first Test at Port Elizabeth, Amla scored 20 and 48, and in the second, at Cape Town, he scored 29 and 0. Though mediocre by his standards, Proteas' fans expect him to deliver in the ongoing 100th Test.
In 99 matches, he has scored 7665 runs at an average of 49.45, with 311 being the highest. It is after four years that his Test average has gone below 50. He has 25 centuries and 31 half-centuries to his credit.
Amla, a former Test captain who led the team from June 2014 to January 2016, made his Test debut against India in Kolkata in 2004. He made 24 and 2. India won the Test by 8 wickets. Amla completed 1000 runs in Tests and ODIs in the same year, 2010.
In January 2011, Amla became the fastest cricketer to reach 2000 runs in ODIs. He is the first cricketer to score 20 ODI centuries in 108 innings. He is currently ranked No. 8 in Tests and No. 5 in ODIs. He was the first South African to score a triple century in Tests when he scored 311 (not out) against England in 2012. He has scored ODI centuries against all Test playing countries and is only the fourth person to do so.
Amla has won three man-of-the-series awards, and has led South Africa to victory in five of his six man-of-the-match winning games. He is considered among the best close-in fielder as he has taken 87 catches.
In January 2016, he stepped down as captain following a drawn Test against England at Newlands. This was preceded by his poor run of form and his team's poor performance against India in November 2015. His team lost the first Test against England in the home series. In the second test, the one after which Amla announced his resignation, ended in a draw after a double century from him.
