Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis continued the slaughter of Bangladesh’s cricket team in Bloemfontein as they pushed South Africa passed 500 and notched up centuries in the process.
By lunch, taken an hour later than scheduled after the start of play was delayed by rain, South Africa were on 530/3 with Amla on 132 (162b, 17x4) and Du Plessis on 120 (167b, 12x4).
The pair have shared a stand of 242 runs for the fourth wicket as South Africa continue to dominate after being inserted by Mushfiqur Rahim on Friday.
Following on from the centuries by openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram on the first day, Amla and Du Plessis’s landmarks is just the second time that
South Africa have scored four centuries in a Test innings. The previous occasion was in 2005, when Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince made centuries against the West Indies on the flattest pitch in living memory at the St. Johns Recreation. The West Indies replied with four hundreds of their own including a triple hundred by Chris Gayle.
There’ll be none of that here in Bloemfontein - which just two weeks ago hosted a Sunfoil Series match in which the Cape Cobras and Knights split six hundreds in the match - with South Africa likely to declare after lunch.
The only moment of drama for the Proteas in the first session came when Du Plessis smacked a stylish straight drive, held his pose and even took congratulations from his batting partner before they realised the ball didn’t hit the boundary it’s path halted by a mound of sawdust being used to help with the footmarks.
Du Plessis had to swiftly sprint to his crease as the throw came in from the boundary and after flattening the offending mound, he continued his deliberate assault on the toothless Tigers attack.
Amla had by that stage moved to his 28th century, which took him clear of Graeme Smith for the most hundred by a South African batsman. Kallis leads the way in that category with 45.
For Du Plessis, his hundred was the seventh of his career and the first since his memorable 118 not out at the Adeliade Oval which came in the wake of that ridiculous ‘mint-gate’ affair.