Amla made his Test debut against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 2004.[7][8] His first century came two years later against New Zealand at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town.[9] His score of 311 not out, against England at The Oval, London, in 2012, is the only triple century by a South African batsman in Test cricket.[10][11][12] Amla has scored Test centuries at sixteen cricket grounds, including ten at venues outside South Africa.[13][14] In Tests, he has scored centuries against eight different opponents, and has the most centuries (six) against England. As of January 2019[update], Amla has the second-highest number of centuries for South Africa in Tests.[n 1][15]
Amla made his ODI debut in 2008 against Bangladesh at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong.[16] His first century came in the same year against the same team at the Willowmoore Park, Benoni.[17] His highest ODI score of 159 was made against Ireland at the Manuka Oval, Canberra in 2015.[18] His 27 centuries in the format is a South African record. Amla has played 38 Twenty20 International (T20I) matches without scoring a century;[19] his highest score in the format is 97 not out.[3] As of January 2019[update], Amla has the sixth-highest number of centuries across all formats in international cricket.[20]