New Zealand took charge of the first Teger test on the back of a magnificent double-century from Rachin Ravindra as well as four early South African wickets on the second day of the match at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Monday.
Ravindra’s 240 and a century from Kane Williamson enabled the Black Caps to compile 511 all out in their first innings before a Kyle Jamieson double-strike as well as wickets from paceman Matt Henry and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner reduced the Proteas to 80 for four at the close – a deficit of 431 with six first-innings wickets in hand.
Speaking after the close, South Africa’s batting coach, Imraan Khan, praised New Zealand for good bowling and said the team had lost two more wickets than it would have liked. “But our job tomorrow is to form partnerships and put on a performance. There’s no reason on this good pitch why we can’t compile a good first-innings total.”
The only cheerful elements in a bleak day for the visitors was a six-wicket haul for left-arm spinner Neil Brand, some excellent disciplined medium-pace bowling from Ruan de Swardt (2/61 in 29 overs) and a breezy fourth-wicket partnership of 44 in 53 balls from David Bedingham (29*) and Zubayr Hamza (22) that was ended in a most unfortunate way when Hamza swept at Santner and the ball struck multiple parts of his body before rebounding onto his stumps.
At the close, Bedingham – who was fortunate to survive a dropped catch by Henry at long-leg – was joined by the team’s last specialist batsman, Keegan Petersen.
Brand’s figures of 6/119 in 26 overs was the first five-for for a South African spinner on test debut since unity, but the South African captain would have much preferred big runs instead. Unfortunately, he was caught behind off Kyle Jamieson’s first over when the ball caught the edge of his bat as he tried to shoulder arms. The tall paceman then compounded the hurt when he trapped Raynard van Tonder leg before second ball as he played around his front pad.
Opener Edward Moore made a breezy 23 before failing to get on top of a sharply rising delivery from Matt Henry – the ball looped into the covers and Devon Conway sprinted forward to take a good diving catch.
Earlier, New Zealand resumed their first innings on their overnight score of 258 for two with Williamson and Ravindra having both reached their hundreds the previous evening.
Progress was slow and steady as the Kiwis added 72 runs in the session that included 28 overs with their run-rate still under three runs to the over.
Under another cloudless sky, Williamson and Ravindra played themselves in against De Swardt and Dane Paterson. The latter nearly claimed Williamson’s wicket in his first over when his outswinging delivery found Williamson’s edge but the ball just bounced in front of diving wicketkeeper Clyde Fortuin. It was not the first time in his innings that Williamson’s soft hands kept a genuine edge from reaching the slip cordon.
Williamson was not to survive for much longer, however. Attempting a lofted on-drive against De Swardt, the ball struck the outer half of his bat and ballooned to mid-off where Tshepo Moreki took the catch, hanging onto the ball as he tumbled backwards. Williamson’s 118, his 30th test century, had spanned 289 balls and included 16 fours. His dismissal ended an epic third-wicket partnership of 232 in 472 balls with Ravindra.
After a process of grinding accumulation for most of their innings, New Zealand cut loose in the afternoon session – scoring 145 runs in 27 overs at 5.4 runs per over, the fastest scoring of the innings.
New Zealand were clearly happy to sacrifice wickets in pursuit of quick runs with Daryl Mitchell (34 off 75 balls) the first to go after lunch after helping Ravindra add 103 for the fourth wicket. The aggressive right-hander was just getting into his stride when he drove Brand straight back to the left-hand spinner, the skipper somehow hanging on to a stinging return catch to pick up his first test wicket.
Tom Blundell was the next to go, mistiming a drive off De Swardt to Hamza at midwicket. Glenn Phillips struck a quick 39 in 42 balls before giving Brand his second scalp, caught at long-off and the captain grabbed a third when a tired Ravindra played on attempting to pull.
The 24-year-old left-hander, the second youngest New Zealander to score a test double-century, had shown remarkable composure, patience and skill to score his runs. Altogether he batted for six minutes over nine hours, facing 366 balls and striking 26 fours and three sixes. He departed to handshakes from the South African fielders, warm applause from the crowd and a raucous welcome from his teammates.
Henry belted 27 in nine balls after tea as the Black Caps passed the 500 mark while Brand cleaned up the tail.
NEW ZEALAND: Tim Southee (capt), Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry
SOUTH AFRICA: Neil Brand (capt), Edward Moore, Raynard van Tonder, Zubayr Hamza, David Bedingham, Keegan Petersen, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Duanne Olivier, Tshepo Moreki, Dane Paterson