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Proteas push for victory
10/11/2007 18:10 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla shared a triple century partnership as South Africa moved towards victory on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand at the Wanderers Stadium here on Saturday.
Set to make 531 to win, New Zealand were 57 for three at the close.
Kallis and Amla shared a third wicket stand of 330 against a New Zealand team hit by injury and illness. It enabled South Africa to declare their second innings at 422 for three.
Kallis made 186, three short of his highest Test score, while Amla made a career-best 176 not out.
First innings destroyer Dale Steyn took an early wicket when New Zealand batted again and Andre Nel struck twice in his first over to plunge the Black Caps into a hopeless position.
New Zealand strike bowler Shane Bond left the field after bowling four overs at the start of the day, while Jacob Oram, who dismissed Kallis, limped off midway through an over and did not return.
Former captain Stephen Fleming was missing from the start of the innings because of a badly bruised right forearm.
Michael Papps was unable to open the batting because he was off the field all day suffering from illness.
Fleming opened in Papps' place because he was entitled to bat, having suffered an external injury.
Kallis again fell short of a Test double century, prodding tamely at Oram to be caught behind, but when he was on 120 he became the eighth batsman in Test history to score 9 000 runs.
Rotated his bowlers
It was his 28th Test century, putting him in sixth place on the all-time list.
Daniel Vettori, Fleming's successor, rotated his bowlers without achieving a breakthrough. He had the frustration of having Kallis dropped at mid-off on 108 by substitute fielder Michael Mason. At one stage four substitutes were on the field.
Amla was the first to a century when he glanced Chris Martin to the fine leg boundary. He made his hundred off 211 balls with 16 fours.
Kallis followed in spectacular style when he pulled a rare short ball from Vettori for six. He had faced 166 balls and hit 14 fours and a six. In the next over he hooked Jacob Oram for another six. Despite his let-off in the following over, Kallis continued to attack.
He raced ahead of Amla as he made his third fifty off just 52 balls with seven fours and a six.
He added another six, a pull off Martin, before falling after facing 262 balls. He hit 25 fours and three sixes.
The scoring rate dropped when Ashwell Prince joined Amla before Amla reached 150 off 331 balls with 21 fours. Amla also passed his previous highest Test score of 149 when he made his only other century against the same opponents in Cape Town two seasons ago.
Steyn struck in the fifth over of New Zealand's innings when he had Craig Cumming caught at first slip. Fleming was also caught at first slip by South African captain Graeme Smith off Nel and Ross Taylor soon followed, caught by Kallis at second slip off Nel.
- AFP
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