AB de Villiers goes past 10,000 first-class runs
NEW DELHI: AB de Villiers, who had not played a Test for South Africa since January 2016, returned to the longest format in style by notching a special milestone in the inaugural Pink Ball four-day Test against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth.
De Villiers, leading the South Africa side in the absence of Faf du Plessis who was ruled out of the game due to injury, came to bat in the 25th over of the innings after Hashim Amla had fallen to Chris Mpofu for 5.
JOINED SELECT BAND
On the second ball, he punched a full ball past mid-on for three runs to notch up 10,000 runs in first-class cricket.
The South Africa skipper joined the likes of Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Hansie Cronje, Barry Richards and Kepler Wessels in an elite list of South Africa players who have gone past 10,000 first-class runs in their career. The right-hander smashed two consecutive boundaries to start his innings on a positive note.
LONG BREAK
De Villiers, who has played 106 Tests for South Africa, has battled injury, taken a break from the long form of the game and handed over the captaincy to Faf du Plessis as well as monitoring his back injury which has caused him problems.
During that period, question marks remained whether de Villiers would play a Test but he has made a comeback for the Pink Ball Test against Zimbabwe.
SOLID START
This is the first time a Pink Ball Test will be played for four days. Play will be scheduled for sixand-a-half hours each day, half an hour more than in five-day games, with 98 overs due to be bowled in a day.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat with Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar putting on a solid stand before Zimbabwe struck back with vital wickets. Brief scores: SA 251/4 in 65.3 overs (D Elgar 31, A Markram 125, AB de Villiers 53, T Bavuma 35 batting; K Jarvis 2/38, C Mpofu 2/49) at dinner break.