South Africa vs England, 2019-20: 2nd Test, Day 2 – Yet another record for Rassie, Stokes' record in catches, South Africa's double-digit opening stand and more stats

South Africa lost the advantage in the Cape Town Test against England as they lost wickets in a quick span just when they were set for a solid lead. Dean Elgar (88) and Rassie van der Dussen (68) added 117 runs for the 4th wicket as South Africa went past 150-run mark losing only three wickets. Elgar got out trying a big shot while Quinton de Kock perished in search of quick runs. From 191/4, the Proteas were reduced to 215/8 before the stumps on 2nd day.

All the statistical highlights from an even-stevens day’s play in the Cape Town Test match:

Another achievement for Rassie van der Dussen:

1 – Rassie van der Dussen became the first player to record at least one fifty-plus score in first two matches in both Test and ODI formats. He scored 93 and 80* in his first two ODI matches during the series against Pakistan last year and now has scored 51 and 68 in first two Tests.

A total of 25 players before Rassie had a fifty-plus score in both Test and ODI debuts but none of them recorded 50+ scores in their 2nd match in the respective formats as well.

A rare double-digit opening stand for South Africa:

26 – The 26-run opening stand in the first innings brought an end to South Africa’s 7 consecutive single-digit partnerships for the first wicket in Test cricket – 2, 0, 5, 4, 0, 2, 4.

The 26-run stand is also the highest for South Africa in the last 11 innings. Across the previous 10 innings, South Africa added only 56 runs for their first wicket.

Ben Stokes equals England record:

4 – Number of catches Ben Stokes has claimed in South Africa’s first innings thus far. This is the 24th instance of an England fielder claiming 4 catches in a Test innings but none took five catches in an inning. Stokes has got a chance to break his country record if he takes one catch among the two remaining wickets of South Africa.

Pieter Malan’s long wait:

148 – Number of matches Pieter Malan played before making his Test debut in this game. Only Peter Kirsten (270), Jimmy Cook (246) and Stephen Cook (165) played more FC matches than Malan before their Test debut for South Africa. Malan scored 10161 runs in FC cricket before scoring his first Test run.

Ollie Pope boosts his FC average:

59.49 – Ollie Pope has a first-class batting average of 59.49 after the unbeaten fifty in the first innings. He has scored 2556 runs across 51 innings in this format with help of 8 hundreds and 9 fifties. Among the active players with 50+ FC innings, only Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (64.02) has better batting average in FC cricket than Pope at the moment.

Watch: Dale Steyn’s cheeky run-out attempt against AB de Villiers