Hashim Amla is fastest to reach 5000 runs, betters Virat Kohli

Two big partnerships involving top-scorer AB de Villiers (81) repaired the early damage though as he put on 99 with Amla and 123 with powerful left-hander David Miller (70).

A torrential downpour ended the innings 10 balls shy of the allotted overs and when play resumed two hours and 43 minutes later, the tourist were handed a stiff revised target.

Gayle (41), so scintillating in the recently completed Twenty20 series, blazed away but lost his wicket when attempting an ugly baseball swipe at a Dale Steyn delivery. He was caught behind by De Villiers.

With him went the West Indies hopes but they did not help themselves with more poor shot selection. Nobody else managed a significant contribution as the Proteas bowlers squeezed the run rate higher and picked up wickets at regular intervals.

West Indies handed a debut to left-handed batsman Jonathan Carter (17) but he was stumped off leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who continued his good form in the shorter formats with three for 30 in six overs. Steyn was another top performer with the ball, collecting three for 27 from 5.2 overs.

“I’m a little bit embarrassed to be standing here with the man of the match award to be honest because David Miller batted much better than me. He looked like he played on a different wicket today,” De Villiers said in a television interview.

Brief scores: South Africa 279/8 in 48.2 overs (AB de Villiers 81, D Miller 70; J Taylor 2-50, A Russell 2-51). West Indies 164 in 28.2 overs (C Gayle 41, D Ramdin 31; D Steyn 3/27, V Philander 3/44). South Africa won by 61 runs (D/L).