South Africa star batsman Hashim Amla came back out to bat after retiring hurt having been hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer in a bid to rally his side after a collapse in the World Cup opener against England at the Oval on Thursday.

Amla had made five when he missed an intended pull off the fast bowler, the ball crashing into his helmet after he was beaten for sheer speed. He had several minutes of on-field treatment before walking off.

With the score 167 for six in the 32nd over, Amla returned after being cleared to resume his innings by the tournament medical director.

However, Amla was caught behind by Jos Buttler off the bowling of Liam Plunkett for 13. The Proteas eventually lost the match by 104 runs. South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said at the presentation that Amla looks fine.

“He (Amla) is okay now and when he came back to the dressing room, he looked fine and hopefully that’s a good sign for the next game,” said Du Plessis.

The skipper added that they were outplayed in all three departments by England.

“I think we have been outplayed in all three departments. I think we were looking for 330-340 but when we took the pace off we thought 300 was par (while England were batting). Their batting was really good. They are a top-quality team and they showed that with the bat today. When we have Dale and all our resources, we back our bowling to restrict teams under 300,” said Du Plessis.

(With inputs from agencies)

First Published: May 30, 2019 23:09 IST