Raynard van Tonder’s unbeaten 131 propelled his side to a five-wicket win over West Indies in their one-day series opener on Sunday.

The hosts won the toss and invited West Indies to take first strike. Kirstan Kallicharan was the standout performer for the visitors with the bat, scoring a 106-ball 101.

The rest of the batting order struggled, with Jeavor Royal’s 28 the next best effort.

Thando Ntini was the pick of the South Africa bowlers, finishing with 4-56, while Jade de Klerk, Curtis Campher and Gerald Coetzee picked up a scalp apiece to restrict the visitors to 222-8.

The hosts’ reply was led by Van Tonder’s 133-ball knock, which included no fewer than 18 fours and two sixes. His innings went a long way to offsetting the cheap dismissals of Matthew Breetzke (2) and Jiveshan Pillay (1) at he top of the order.

There were also valuable contributions from Wandile Makwetu (35) and Herman Rolfes (26) which allowed the hosts to complete a resounding victory with 53 balls remaining.

The second match in the five-match series takes place in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.