SA v NZL 2nd Test, Day 1 Review – Steady South Africa top order gives edge to the hosts

The hosts South Africa had a tough time in the first Test against the visitors New Zealand at Durban. Their batsmen didn’t live up to the expectation and had succumbed to the Kiwi attack miserably. However, they bounced back with Dale Steyn firing in with his fiery pace to send the Kiwi openers cheaply. Just when the interest had begun to build, the action was curtailed by the rain gods.

After a washed out 2 and half days of Test, the action moved to the Supersport Park at Centurion for the 2^nd and the final Test of the series. The stakes were high as a win would have meant nothing but a crucial series win. New Zealand under their new skipper Kane Williamson looked to continue their winning momentum from the Zimbabwe tour, while South Africa needed to reclaim their lost stakes.

Coming into the game, New Zealand won the toss and elected to put South Africa into bat first. The agenda was clear – do what they had done in the first Test. South Africa left out Dean Elgar and played middle-order batsman Stiaan Van Zyl. On the other hand, New Zealand went in with an unchanged eleven.

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South African openers, Stephen Cook and Quinton de Kock, walked at the crease as Tim Southee shared the new ball with Trent Boult. The Kiwi bowlers bowled a tight lineup front but the Protea batters negotiated them with composure to see the new ball through. Boult got one to skid into the pads of Cook in the 4^th over to keep the visitors interested. However, their review went wasted as Cook had managed to get a feather inside edge before the ball had nipped back to his pads.

Barring that moment, Cook and De Kock played their shots with perfection to dominate the proceedings in the first session of play. De Kock, in particular, was the more aggressive batter among the two. He brought up his half-century in the 25^th over and soon the 100-run stand between the openers was brought up in the 28^th over of the play.

The batsmen looked set for more but the patience, or perhaps the lack of it, saw de Kock pull one straight into the hands of fine leg fielder Boult in the early overs of the second session. Neil Wagner was the beneficiary as he dismissed QDK for 82 that came off 114 balls with 15 boundaries. In walked Hashim Amla to join Cook. In the very next over, the 40^th over, Cook brought up his maiden Test fifty.

He couldn’t continue for long though and was dismissed by Doug Bracewell on 56 that came off 143 balls as skipper Williamson completed a good low catch at the gully. JP Duminy walked into the middle with South Africa sitting comfortably placed at 151/2 in 46 overs. The experience of Duminy and Amla saw South Africa ease past the 200-run mark. Amla, in the process, also brought up his half-century.

The duo put on 95 runs for the 3^rd wicket before Amla was dismissed on 58 off 91 balls by Neil Wagner in the 70^th over of the play. Faf du Plessis was the new man in and Kiwi bowlers looked rejuvenated. 3 successive maidens followed before du Plessis got off the mark. Meanwhile, Duminy strolled to his fifty in the 77^th over – the 4^th fifty of the innings. How often do we see that?

Both batsmen carried along to see the overs through in the final session of play. With no risks taken, du Plessis and Duminy ensured that South Africa took the honours on day 1 of the Test. Both the batsmen played excruciatingly slow towards the end of the day and the intention of just seeing the day through was clear. The Kiwis tried hard but both their spearheads, Boult and Southee, went wicketless.

By the end of the day, South Africa were placed at 283/3 as the day ended after 88 overs being bowled. Duminy remained unbeaten on 67 off 122 balls while du Plessis toiled hard for his unbeaten 13. For the Kiwis, the rare positive was Wagner’s double strike as he ended with 2/51 on the day.

Brief Scores:

South Africa 283/3 in 88 overs (de Kock 82, Duminy 67*, Wagner 2/51, Bracewell 1/65)