England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to field but the decision backfired as South Africa’s openers started by smashing the ball all over Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium ground.
Left-handed de Kock reached his 50 off just 21 balls thanks to seven fours and three sixes that included a beautiful array of shot-making in the Super 10 Group one game.
Morgan experimented with six different bowlers in the first seven overs as de Kock and Amla made easy work of David Willey and Reece Topley, among others, to reach 96/0.
England finally made a breakthrough in the eighth over when de Kock, on 52, was caught deep by Alex Hales off spinner Moeen Ali, providing them a rare moment of joy.
AB de Villiers came in and made a quick 16 as South Africa reached 100 in only eight overs before he was caught by Eoin Morgan off Rashid in the ninth.
The two quick wickets helped to stem the South African tide momentarily and gave England a brief moment of hope, however South Africa’s strength in depth shone through.
England were left to rue a simple dropped catch by Topley in the fourth over that would have seen Amla walk as the batsman went on to notch his half-century in the tenth.
He was eventually out leg before wicket by Ali in the 12th while on 58 runs.
Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis came in at number four and made 17 while Duminy expertly took over where de Kock and Amla had left off.
The left-hander, batting at number five, scored a not out 54 that included three sixes and three fours.
England’s fielding was lacklustre and Ali took two wickets for 34 runs as South Africa finished on 229/4, leaving the English batsmen with an uphill task in the night match
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