de Villiers stars in warm-up win

South African XI 132 for 2 (de Villiers 55*, Smith 44) beat Hyderabad XI 127 (Botha 3-34, Nel 2-14) by eight wickets
Scorecard

South Africa warmed up for their one-day series against India with a comfortable win against a Hyderabad XI. AB de Villiers shone with the bat striking an impressive 55 while Johan Botha, the uncapped offspinner, was the pick of the attack with 3 for 34.

It was a useful workout for the South Africans, who arrived in India on Saturday, ahead of a series which pits two of the in-form teams of the moment. South Africa are touring on the back of a 4-0 demolition of New Zealand and India have just completed an even more commanding 6-1 drubbing of Sri Lanka.

The performance of Botha will have been heartening for the South African selectors, who are still searching high and low for spinning talent. With Nicky Boje not making this trip, due to the fear that he would have been arrested over alleged links to match-fixing, it is the perfect chance for the next South African slow bowler to make their mark.

Botha, who until a year ago was a medium pacer, is competing for a place alongside Robin Peterson and Justin Ontong and made the right first impression.

The time de Villiers spent at the crease was also a boost for the tourists. He failed to produce a significant innings against New Zealand and this is an important series as he tries to establish himself as long-term opening partner for Graeme Smith in ODIs, in the same way he has in Tests.

The five-match series kicks of on Wednesday with the first match at Hyderabad.