Debutant opener David Warner declared his arrival into the global vista with a blasting innings of 43-ball 89 to help Australia beat South Africa by 52 runs in the first Twenty20 fight.  

Warner, who became the first Australian player to play in any format of the game without a first-class experience, raided the South African bowlers cruelly with seven fours and six clean hits over the ropes.

Set to chase a intimidating target of 183, South Africa was off to a terrible start and was bowled out for 130 with JP Duminy (78) once again proving his worth as a top quality batsman for the Proteas.

The Proteas, who recorded their first-ever Test series win in Australia earlier this month, were completely out of sorts as they were caught unaware by the heroics of Warner who also recorded the second fastest Twenty20 fifty off just 19 deliveries.

South Africa began their innings with the worst possible start and lost their first three wickets inside three overs with just 12 runs on the board.

While Duminy played the lone hand in South Africa's fruitless chase, his team mates failed to come into terms with some power-packed bowling performances from the Aussie bowlers.

Duminy's 78 came off just 48 balls and included nine fours and a six. The next best individual score came from Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Albie Morkel (both 12), with Herchell Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Makhaya Ntini failing to even open their account.

Scores in brief:

Australia: 182/9 in 20 overs,  Warner 89, Ponting 21, D Steyn 3/38,
South Africa: 130 all out in 18 overs, Duminy 78, D Hussey 3/25,
Man of the Match: David Warner (Australia).