It’s up to AB as Kohli waves his wand
GRITTY: DE VILLIERS, ELGAR TAKE THE FIGHT TO INDIA Proteas bowlers let visitors off the hook in Centurion.
After watching Virat Kohli lift India to within 28 runs of SA, De Villiers has the chance to also do something special.
AB de Villiers notched his 42nd Test half-century shortly before the close and it is no exaggeration to say he bears the hopes of his team on his shoulders in the second Test against India at Centurion.
Having watched Virat Kohli stroke a magnificent 153 that lifted India to within 28 runs of South Africa on THE first innings, De Villiers has the chance to do something similarly special as his 50 not out took the Proteas to 90/2, a lead of 118, when bad light brought a premature end to play on the third day yesterday.
Having bowled poorly to allow India to get to 307 from their overnight score of 183/5, South Africa then slumped to 3/2 in their second innings, India seizing the in- itiative on “moving day”.
De Villiers came to the crease in the sixth over and his arrival quickly shifted the momentum as he batted positively to collect six boundaries in a 78-ball 50.
Dean Elgar was scrapping typically hard at the other end on 36 not out, having watched Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla both fall for a single to Jaspreet Bumrah, who produced two excellent deliveries that jagged back and kept a shade low to win two lbw decisions about which there could be no argument.
They were just reward for targeting the stumps on a pitch with inconsistent bounce, and there could also be no argument that South Africa’s bowlers had failed dismally to do the same in the morning session, instead tending to bowl way too wide outside off stump. All 12 boundaries India scored before lunch came through the off-side.
Hardik Pandya (15) fell to a run out that was in the same league as Vernon Philander’s in terms of stupidity, the batsman failing to slide his bat in and his foot being in the air as Philander, ironically, threw down the stumps, but Ravichandran Ashwin then came in and played a pugnacious innings of 38.
Kohli and Ashwin were able to add 71 for the seventh wicket and even though the latter fell to Philander, Faf du Plessis snatching a flier that was heading for his head at second slip, with the second new ball shortly before lunch, it was undeniably India’s morning as they inched ever nearer to first-innings parity.
Morne Morkel (22.1-5-60-4) then wrapped up the innings, but not before Kohli was able to halve the deficit again with the last three batsmen and South Africa could perhaps have tried bowling normally to him instead of having the field spread and trying to keep him off strike.
Kohli’s innings on a tricky pitch showed that he not only has genius when it comes to batting skills, but also a tremendous temperament, making big runs when his team really needs them.
De Villiers will be desperate to do the same today.