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Sehwag: Amla surprised us
27/03/2008 15:34 - (SA)
Chennai - South Africa's top scorer Hashim Amla who weighed in with 159 runs before he was run out, says it was the hottest conditions he has ever batted in.
"It was a difficult challenge so I do rate this effort up there with my best.
"The wicket was good to bat on, but it is always special to score a century in the subcontinent.
"There is a lot of hard work ahead for the bowlers and we are hoping the wicket will do a bit on the third and fourth day."
Virender Sehwag said Amla was a surprise. "We did not expect him to play the way he did."
India made a confident reply to South Africa's record 540 in the first cricket Test here, reaching 82 without loss by stumps on the second day on Thursday.
Sehwag smashed a typically aggressive 52 and Wasim Jaffer chipped in with 25 as the Indian openers emerged unscathed from the 21 overs they faced before the close.
Both batsmen played freely, each striking a six over the slips off pace bowler Makhaya Ntini to the delight of 14 000 home fans at the Chidambaram stadium.
India will resume on Friday with their first target being to reach the 341 that will save them the embarrassment of a follow-on in the first match of the three-Test series.
Amla's 159 lifted South Africa to their highest total in India, surpassing the 510-9 declared at Kanpur on their previous tour in 2004.
Flow of runs
The Proteas, who began the day on 304-4, nearly doubled their score despite a slow over rate of 13 an hour by the Indian bowlers to check the flow of runs on the unresponsive wicket.
The 24-year-old Amla hit 20 fours in his fourth Test century, but fell short of his career-best 176 not out against New Zealand in Johannesburg last year.
Sehwag said India's aim was to put up a big total over the next two days.
"It will not be easy to bat on the final day, so if we can get a lead of about 100 we can put the South Africans under pressure," he said.
"If the ball is to be hit, I will hit it, but I want to start afresh tomorrow and build a big score.
"It was hard work for our bowlers but Hashim was a surprise. We did not expect him to play the way he did."
Amla's seven-hour vigil on the slow wicket ended in a run-out midway through the afternoon session but there was no respite for the tired Indian attack as Mark Boucher went on to hit 70.
Boucher, who survived a loud shout for leg-before against Shanthakumaran Sreesanth when he was on 10, put on 99 for the sixth wicket with Amla.
Tailender Morne Morkel joined in the fun, stroking seven boundaries in his 35 during a seventh-wicket stand of 54 with Boucher.
No assistance to the bowlers
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh picked up the last three tailenders to earn himself a five-wicket haul, but at a cost of 164 runs from 44.5 overs.
Spin partner Anil Kumble, the Indian captain, took 2-106 while left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh's 23 wicketless overs cost 111 runs.
Sreesanth was the fourth bowler to concede more than 100 runs, finishing with 1-104 on the slow pitch that offered no assistance to the bowlers.
Amla, who was on 85 overnight, reached his hundred half-an-hour after the start of the day's play with the last of his three cover-driven boundaries in one over from seamer Sreesanth.
The tourists, who were 510-6 at one stage, lost their last four wickets for 30 runs.
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Rugby
