Ryan Rickelton has been left in awe of teen bowling sensation Kwena Maphaka following his sensational bowling spell in the first T20I against Australia. The left-arm speedster ran through the Australian batting as he registered his best-ever figures in T20Is.

Mapahaka dismissed Mitchell Owen in the seventh over and got the prized scalp of Tim David (83 off 52) in the 19^th over to stop Australia from crossing the 180-run mark.

The 19-year-old also had a verbal exchange with the Australian batter. Following his remarkable performance, Rickelton hailed Maphaka's fiery character and said that it was cool to see a young guy stand up to Australia in their backyard.
 

"He is quite a fiery character. But he is very relaxed, very quiet in the change room. He had a bit of a go at Tim (David) there, but he is very competitive.

He backs his ability, which is great. It is cool to see a young guy stand up to Australia in their backyard. It is very promising for South African cricket," Rickelton was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"He is quite a relaxed guy in the change room, but when he crosses that line, he has got a bit of white-line fever, which is quite exciting for us," concluded Rickelton.

Maphaka finished with figures of 4/20 in four overs and was well-supported by Kagiso Rabada (2/29), who topped Australia's top order.

Courtesy of their performance, Australia got all out for 178 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, South Africa were restricted to 161/9 in their 20 overs as Ben Dwarshius (3/26) and Josh Hazlewood (3/27) scalped three wickets each.
Rickelton was the top scorer for the visitors with his innings of 71 (55) as he whacked five fours and a six. Despite his innings, South Africa fell short of their target and lost the match by 17 runs. The Aiden Markram-led side will be eager to make a comeback in the second T20I, scheduled to be played on Tuesday, August 1,2 at Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin.