South Africa eased to a 21-run victory in their Twenty20 clash with Australia - a match limited to 10 overs each after rain delayed the start.

The Proteas prevailed 2-1 in the recent ODI series between the sides and were again celebrating after the first international cricket match to be played at the Gold Coast's Metricon Stadium.

Australia won the toss and chose to bowl after the covers were finally pulled back following a wait of an hour and 50 minutes.

South Africa's progress was solid if unspectacular, with Quinton du Kock (22) and Faf du Plessis (27) contributing to a 10-over total of 108-6.

Having seen opposite number Du Plessis top score for the tourists, Australia captain Aaron Finch - celebrating his 32nd birthday - struggled to get his innings off the ground, falling for just seven.

D'Arcy Short (0), Chris Lynn (14) and Marcus Stoinis (5) all followed in quick succession to leave the hosts 37-4.

Glenn Maxwell was the only man other than Lynn to reach double figures, but his 38 was not enough to rescue a result for the home side and he was caught by Farhaan Behardien off Lungi Ngidi with the final delivery of the match - his side finishing on 87-7.

"We just left ourselves too much to do," Maxwell told Fox Sports. "We didn't start well and didn't recover from there.

"Hopefully we can improve before we hit the ground running against India [on Wednesday]."