CAPE TOWN, South Africa, CMC – South Africa were tightening their grip on the third and final Test, after half-centuries from Faf du Plessis and captain Hashim Amla subdued West Indies on the second day at Newlands yesterday.
When rain forced a premature end to the day’s play at 5:30 pm, the hosts were in strong reply at 227 for three, only 102 runs adrift of West Indies’ first innings total of 329.
Play is set to 10:28 am yesterday’s third day with 91 overs scheduled.
Captain Hashim Amla was unbeaten on 55 and was partnered by AB de Villiers on 32, in an ominous 70-run, stand for the fourth wicket.
Faf du Plessis has so far top scored with 68 while opener Alviro Petersen chipped in with 42.
Earlier, Jermaine Blackwood completed his third Test half-century with 56 as West Indies carried their overnight score of 276 for six past the 300-run mark.
Jason Holder, unbeaten on five overnight, scored 24 but West Indies lost their last four wickets for 53 runs as fast bowler Dale Steyn finished with four for 78, off-spinner Colin Harmer, three for 71 and seamer Morne Morkel, two for 83.
Unbeaten on 45 at the start, the right-handed Blackwood raised his half-century in the third over of the morning when he punched Steyn past mid-off for four.
However, he departed to the first ball of Steyn’s next over, lbw to one that would have hit leg stump. Blackwood’s recourse to the DRS was more in desperation than belief.
Overall, he faced 113 balls in just over 2-3/4 hours at the crease and counted six overs.
He and Holder added 33, carrying West Indies to 299 for seven.
Holder entertained, if only briefly. He drove the fifth delivery of the morning sweetly just wide of mid-off for four off Harmer and then eased seamer Vernon Philander to the cover point boundary in the next over.
In the bowler’s next over, Holder dissected cover for yet another four but then gifted his wicket to Steyn, miscuing a poor attempt at a pull to Stiaan van Zyl at mid-on, on 316 for eight.
Three runs and four balls later, Jerome Taylor was taken at long leg by Steyn off Morkel, who then ended the innings in his next over by removing Sulieman Benn to a catch at mid-off by Temba Bavuma.
South Africa then batted well in partnerships. Though Dean Elgar made just eight, he added 48 for the first wicket with Petersen, before falling on the stroke of lunch, lbw to Holder playing across a straightish delivery.
Petersen and du Plessis then put on a further 56 for the second wicket, denying the Windies any success in the first hour after lunch.
The right-handed Petersen faced 85 balls in 130 minutes at the crease and struck three fours and a six – the latter a clean straight hit off Benn in the lanky left-arm spinner’s third over.
Du Plessis, meanwhile, struck eight fours, facing 130 deliveries in his 2-1/2 hour knock.
The partnership ended in the third over after the drinks break through the brilliance of Blackwood, who darted around from backward point to find Petersen short of his ground at the striker’s end with a direct hit, as the two batsmen bungled a quick single.
South Africa were then 104 for two but West Indies again were forced to foil despite the breakthrough as Du Plessis and Amla posted 53 for the third wicket.
Du Plessis, coming off a hundred in the last game in Port Elizabeth, looked in great touch. He pulled and then off-drove Taylor for fours in the seamer’s sixth over and then cantered to his seventh half-century in Tests in the third over before tea.
Unbeaten on 51 at the break with South Africa on 135 for two, du Plessis eventually perished nearly 40 minutes into the session when he charged Benn, missed his stroke for wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to complete an easy stumping at 157 for three.
However, any hopes of a Windies revival were soon smothered as Amla and de Villiers, not for the first time in the series, took charge of proceedings.
Amla quietly but busily accumulated his runs to reach his 28 Test half-century, and has so far consumed 130 balls and counted seven fours in a composed innings.
De Villiers was no less assured, collecting two off-side boundaries in one over from Taylor in a knock that has required 54 balls and included four fours.
With both batsmen well set, the intervention of rain provided West Indies with a welcomed respite.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES 1st innings
(overnight 276 for six)
K Brathwaite c Elgar b Steyn 7
D Smith b Harmer 47
L Johnson lbw b Harmer 54
M Samuels c du Plessis b van Zyl 43
S Chanderpaul st de Villiers b Harmer 9
J Blackwood lbw b Steyn 56
*+D Ramdin c and b Steyn 53
J Holder c van Zyl b Steyn 24
J Taylor c Steyn b Morkel 13
S Benn c Bavuma b Morkel 5
S Gabriel not out 4
Extras (lb5, w8, nb2) 15
TOTAL (all out, 99.5 overs) 329
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-80, 3-131, 4-162, 5-172, 6-266, 7-299, 8-316, 9-319, 10-329.
Bowling: Steyn 25-6-78-4, Philander 19-2-73-0, Morkel 19.5-1-83-2, Harmer 26-5-71-3, van Zyl 8-1-2-13-1, Elgar 2-0-6-0.
SOUTH AFRICA 1st Innings
A Petersen run out 42
D Elgar lbw b Holder 8
F du Plessis c wkp Ramdin b Benn 68
H Amla not out 55
AB de Villiers not out 32
Extras (lb2, w12, nb8) 22
TOTAL (3 wkts, 68.3 overs) 227
To bat: T Bavuma, S van Zyl, V Philander, D Steyn, M Morkel, S Harmer.
Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-104, 3-157.
Bowling: Taylor 13-1-59-0, Gabriel 12-2-41-0, Holder 14-3-46-1, Samuels 5.3-0-17-0, Benn 24-5-62-1.
Position: South Africa trail by 102 runs with seven wickets intact.
Toss: West Indies.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, P Reiffel; TV – B Bowden.