Amla had been struggling for runs, having scored just 150 in his last 10 Test innings, but scored more than all of them combined with a superb 157. He was ably supported by De Villiers, who made 88. PHOTO: AFP
Captain Hashim Amla scored an unbeaten century on the third day of the second Test against England and AB de Villiers made 88 as South Africa were 353-3 at stumps on Monday.
Amla scored his first hundred for more than a year and De Villiers reached 8,000 Test runs before he pulled a short ball from Steven Finn to James Anderson at mid-wicket just before the tea interval.
South Africa still trail the touring side by 276 runs, 77 short of avoiding the follow-on, with Amla on 157 and Faf du Plessis on 51. Amla and De Villiers had resumed proceedings on 141-2 and extended their partnership to 183, giving South Africa a foothold in the game after England declared on a massive total of 629-6 on a second day of record-breaking batting.
De Villiers out after long stand
The experienced pair played with much circumspection but did offer a few chances that were not accepted by the English fielders. Amla was dropped twice — by Joe Root on 76 and Nick Compton on 120 — and De Villiers was given lbw but survived after asking for a review, which showed he got a slight nick on the Ben Stokes delivery.
De Villiers became the third South African batsman to pass 8,000 runs while Amla, who last made a significant contribution with 208 runs against the West Indies in December 2014, moved past 7,000 runs. The 31-year-old De Villiers joined Jacques Kallis (13,206) and Graeme Smith (9,253) on the list of South Africans with more than 8,000 Test runs.
Ben there, done that: Proteas razed to the ground as Ben Stokes the flames
England, 1-0 up in the series, bowled good lines and with spells of aggression on a pitch that offered little assistance and in hot temperatures that crossed 30 degrees celsius. The third day, however, provided none of the fireworks of Sunday when Stokes and Jonny Bairstow smashed the ball to all corners of the picturesque ground with the hosts adopting a much more cautious approach as they attempt to save the Test in order to not go 2-0 down in the four-match series.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2016.
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