South Africa failed to make early inroads into West Indies’ batting, after AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis gathered resolute hundreds to fortify their position in the second Test on Saturday.
The South Africans were hoping for a bag of early wickets, but West Indies captain Chris Gayle and Narsingh Deonarine defied the Proteas’ attack, as the home team reached 86 for one when bad light stopped play early on the second day at Warner Park in Basseterre.
De Villiers hit an undefeated 135 to top score for South Africa, and Kallis made 110, as the visitors declared on 543 for six in their first innings about 20 minutes after tea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Morne Morkel gave the Proteas an early breakthrough, when Travis Dowlin was caught at third slip for 10 to leave West Indies 13 for one. But the South Africans failed to make further headway, when Deonarine joined Gayle, and batted through the remainder of the evening under gloomy skies.
Earlier, Kallis, who became the sixth batsman to score more than 11,000 runs in Tests, and de Villiers filled their troughs, as South Africa continued to plunder easy runs, after they continued from their overnight total of 295 for three.
Kallis reached his 35th Test hundred from 217 balls, when he cut Sulieman Benn through backward point for the 11th of his 12 fours.
He also struck one six before he was caught at deep backward square leg off Shane Shillingford, whose three wickets for 193 runs from 52 overs made him the most successful West Indies bowler.
De Villiers battled through after lunch with an upset stomach, which required him to leave the field for an unscheduled bathroom break.
He arrived at his 10th Test hundred from 130 balls, with the third of his six sixes over long-on off Benn. He also struck 13 fours from 158 balls in close to five hours of batting in total.
Kallis and de Villiers made full use of the modest West Indies attack operating on a hard, easy-paced pitch to put on 138 for the fourth wicket.
When Kallis was removed, South Africa lost left-hander Ashwell Prince caught at mid-wicket off Benn for nine, and Mark Boucher was run out for 17, when he failed to beat Brendan Nash’s direct hit at the striker’s end.
But Dale Steyn joined de Villiers, and they put on 53 — unbroken — for the seventh wicket either side of tea to further frustrate the West Indies bowlers, and hasten their side to the declaration.
Before lunch, Kallis had his extra special moment. He reached his 50 from 123 balls, when he swept Shillingford to fine leg for two runs, and then proceeded to establish himself in the ranks of the highest scorers in Tests.
Kallis reached the milestone, when he drove Ravi Rampaul through wide mid-on for four.
■ASIA CUP
AFP, DAMBULLA, SRI LANKA
Harbhajan Singh smashed the penultimate ball from Mohammad Aamer for a six as India knocked Pakistan out of the Asia Cup with a three-wicket win on Saturday.
Harbhajan’s last-gasp shot over the midwicket fence helped India past Pakistan’s 267 with one ball to spare in a heart-stopping finish at the Rangiri stadium in Dambulla.
India scored 52 runs in the last five overs after the sixth wicket had fallen at 219, with Suresh Raina making 34 off 27 balls and Harbhajan an unbeaten 15 off 11.
The exciting victory lifted both India and hosts Sri Lanka into Thursday’s final with two wins each and rendered the last two league matches inconsequential.
Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have yet to win a game, play each other today, while India and Sri Lanka clash tomorrow in a dress rehearsal for the final.
Opener Gautam Gambhir hit 83 off 97 balls and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chipped in with 57 during a third-wicket stand of 97 which lifted India to 180-2 in the 36th over.
But Gambhir’s dismissal at that stage, bowled by Saeed Ajmal, triggered a middle-order collapse which saw four wickets fall for the addition of 39 runs.
Raina and Harbhajan then stepped in to lead a brilliant recovery and crush a valiant Pakistan side’s hopes of staying alive in the tournament.
“I think Bhajji [Harbhajan] can be called an all-rounder now,” Dhoni said.
“The batsmen should have finished off the game. In a match like this, one can never remain cool because the heartbeat goes up. It’s great we ended up on the winning side,” he said.
Shahid Afridi was upbeat about the team under him despite the loss and praised the Indians for snatching a close win.
“It was a great game of cricket and enjoyed by all,” the Pakistan captain said. “The Indians batted really well and it was an amazing finish that provided great entertainment.”
For Pakistan, opener Salman Butt top-scored with 74 and Kamran Akmal hit 51 off 41 balls after Afridi won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night international.
■SCOTLAND VS ENGLAND
AFP, EDINBURGH
England openers Craig Kieswetter and captain Andrew Strauss were both in the runs as they warmed up for the one-day international series against Australia with a seven-wicket win over Scotland.
England, set 212 for victory, made 213 for three inside 34 overs on Saturday with wicketkeeper Kieswetter contributing 69 and Strauss 61.
The pair put on 121 for the first wicket, with Kieswetter carrying on from where he left off in the England side that beat Australia in Barbados in the final of the World Twenty20.
Strauss struck a dozen boundaries as he tuned up for the first of a five-match one-day series against Australia which starts tomorrow.
Kieswetter hit two sixes and eight fours, racing to his fifty off 38 balls courtesy of a towering six off Ross Lyons.
It was the first time the duo had batted together and Kieswetter jokingly said: “I’d like to think I showed him what I can but he’s got to show me what he can do as well.”
“It was good to get a win and good to get a nice start at the top with Straussy,” he said. “We batted nicely together, got a good bit of banter going and I thought we dovetailed quite well together.”
The first wicket stand ended when left-hander Strauss lofted Majid Haq to Neil McCallum at deep midwicket and Kieswetter holed out soon afterwards.
Kevin Pietersen fell cheaply for 17, also to off-spinner Haq but Paul Collingwood (38 not out) and Eoin Morgan (24 not out) saw England to a comfortable victory with more than 16 overs left.
Earlier, Michael Yardy took three for 41 as England dismissed Scotland for 211.
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