Lizelle Lee said good timing was key in her destructive 92 against India on Saturday.

The opening batter laid the perfect platform for the Proteas, smashing the India bowlers to all parts of the Leicester ground, reaching her fifty off 44 balls and striking an astonishing five fours and four sixes in the process. Despite this mind-boggling statistic, Lee refused to put it down to pure strength and power.

‘In power hitting, it is about knowing that you still have to keep your shape when you are doing it. It is just not about the power, it is about the timing. We have worked on it, and it shows,’ Lee told the ICC website.

Lee also revealed that she is not fazed by quicker deliveries, saying that she actually enjoys pace on the ball.

‘There were a few which they bowled faster at me, but the faster it is the better it is for me. I don’t mind it.’

Far from done after reaching her half-century, the right-hander continued to bludgeon the India bowlers, adding a further 42 runs, featuring three more fours and three sixes. Her 92 at the top of the innings, along with Dane van Niekerk’s 57 propelled the Proteas to 274.

Shikha Pandey, who was the pick of the Indian bowlers, finishing with 3-44, said Lee was even able to dispatch good deliveries to the boundary, which left the bowling attack feeling despondent.

‘All her shots were going well above. Even the good balls we were bowling, with the kind of bat swing that she had, they were clearing the fence,’ said Pandey.

‘Even though we got the first wicket in the second over itself, we were on the back foot. She was able to clear the fence. It was not just about getting boundaries. Good balls going for sixes was a concern there. So we tried to slow the game down, but it was her day,’ she added.

The bowlers backed up Lee’s fine showing, ripping through the India batting lineup, blowing them away for 158 with Van Niekerk the chief destroyer, finishing with 4-22.

This complete performance by the Proteas helped them record their sixth victory over India in 16 clashes.

Photo: Matthew Lewis-IDI/Getty Images