New Zealand hit back after lunch to rock the Proteas by dismissing the in-form Hashim Amla on day one of the first Test at Kingsmead on Friday.
South African No 3 Amla had been in supreme touch in the opening session as he wrested the initiative back from the Kiwis with a scintillating 41 not out off 42 balls, with nine boundaries, to take the home team into the break at 94/2.
That came after openers Stephen Cook (20) and Dean Elgar (19) were back in the hut to reduce the Proteas to 41/2.
But while Amla was going merrily along, and recorded his 30th Test half-century, the Black Caps landed a massive blow when the Proteas star was cut in half by a sharp in-swinger from left-arm quick Trent Boult that went through his bat and pad, and Amla got an inside edge on to his thigh, with the ball carrying to wicket-keeper BJ Watling for a simple catch.
Amla had looked well on the way to a 26th Test hundred, but it was not to be as he had to leave the scene for 53 off 71 balls (10x4). He had shared a 61-run third-wicket partnership with JP Duminy, but the left-hander was out soon after lunch already.
Duminy had battled up to that point, even though he had three boundaries to his name, on a surface that was quite slow and had some movement in it for the seamers. Duminy lost his patience after adding just one to his lunch-time score off eight balls, with the ninth being a bouncer dug in by left-armer Neil Wagner, and the South African failed to roll his wrists and top-edged it to Boult at fine leg to be out for 14.
The 32-year-old needed to get a substantial score to not only boost his confidence in the longest format of the game, but also to secure his place in the middle-order as regular captain AB de Villiers will be back for the November Test series against Australia Down Under.
And with Amla gone too, the Proteas were suddenly under the whip at 106/4, which allowed the New Zealanders to bring down the scoring rate significantly in the second session. Stand-in SA captain Faf du Plessis in particular got bogged down by the accurate bowling, labouring to 18 not out off 74 balls (2x4), while Temba Bavuma was a bit more positive and finished on an unbeaten 22 off 49 deliveries (3x4).
But more importantly for the Proteas is that the fifth-wicket pair were still at the crease at tea with the score on 146/4 off 54 overs. With only wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock as a recognised batsman still to come, Proteas coach Russell Domingo will hope that Du Plessis and Bavuma can bat for the rest of the day to establish a solid foundation for the rest of the game.
@ashfakmohamed - Independent Media