Hashim Amla, Bold and Beautiful in His First Test as Captain

Behind South Africa's 153-run win against Sri Lanka at Galle on Sunday was a cool and calculative brain at work. While the deadly duo of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel wreaked havoc with a record haul of 16 wickets between them, it was Hashim Amla's bold decision to force a decision that paid dividends.

In his first Test as captain, Amla made a calculated decision by declaring South Africa's second innings at 206 for six wickets. Sri Lanka were set a winning target of  370. Amla and his team management had obviously done their homework well. No team had scored more than 300 runs in the final innings at Galle and no team had chased more than 96 to win.

Once Amla made the decision, the bowlers took over as South Africa scored their first win in three Tests at Galle. They had lost by an innings and 15 runs in 2000 while the 2004 game was drawn.

"I just wanted to have as many overs as possible to win the game. If we had lost the game, so be it but that would give us the best chance to win the game," Amla said. "At 110 for 1 the thought in my mind that maybe we could lose but batting last, chasing 370 is a tough ask for any team."

Amla's boldness helped South Africa score their third win in 11 Tests against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka (lost four and drawn four). (Stats: South Africa Ride on Dale Steyn's Record Breaking Figures)

"I was confident and I was extremely excited because the uncertainty is quite exciting. The thought was there that we could lose this game but if we lost the game I wouldn't have had any regrets," he said.

"It helped that the bowlers were hungry. They asked for the ball regularly. Once we picked up one and I could see how the game is unfolding, I tried to use the spinners to hold the game more because the seamers were doing the job."

JP Duminy's prized wicket of Kumar Sangakkara with a long-hop turned the match South Africa's way. It certainly was an unexpected 'gift' for Amla.

"Some plans you don't tell the captain, you just give the bowlers the freedom to do what they want," Amla joked. "Those kind of things, I mean how often do you see a good ball not get a wicket and then a not so good ball get a wicket? It's just part of the game."