AB de Villiers cracked a maiden double-century as South Africa pummelled the Indian attack in the second Test yesterday, leaving the tourists in a virtually unassailable position.
De Villiers (217 not out) was not alone in feasting on a mediocre Indian attack, with Jacques Kallis’s solid 132 helping South Africa reach 494-7 at stumps on the second day in reply to India’s paltry 76.
Paul Harris was the other not out batsman, on nine, when rain stopped play with 12.4 overs remaining of the day’s play.
PHOTO: AFP
Kallis and De Villiers put on 256 for the fifth wicket, South Africa’s best stand for any wicket against India in Tests. The previous highest was 236 between openers Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson at Kolkata in 1996.
De Villiers and Kallis exposed India’s bowling limitations with 83 runs coming in the first session and 107 in the second for the loss of just one wicket.
India’s needed early wickets after the visitors resumed at 223-4, but none of their five specialist bowlers could maintain pressure on Kallis and De Villiers.
The 24-year-old De Villiers outscored his senior partner and was the first to reach his hundred, scooping a Sourav Ganguly delivery to the fine leg boundary.
He surpassed his previous best of 178 (against West Indies at Bridgetown in 2005) when he swung off-spinner Harbhajan Singh over mid-wicket for a six that landed on the roof of the stand.
De Villiers completed his double-century in the closing session when he drove Harbhajan for a four. It was his fifth three-figure knock in Tests and his first against India.
His score was also the best by a South African batsman against India in Tests, surpassing Herschelle Gibbs’s 196 at Port Elizabeth in 2001.
It was a demoralising day for India, who grabbed just one wicket in the first two sessions as Kallis and De Villiers tightened the screw.
When Kallis inside-edged paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth’s delivery on to his stumps in the afternoon session, South Africa were a mammoth 297 runs ahead with five wickets in hand.
Kallis surpassed Australian legend Don Bradman’s tally of 29 centuries during his 275-ball innings.
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