The Proteas trail by 50 runs at tea on day two, thanks to the positive batting of Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma.
South Africa were in trouble when skipper Faf du Plessis was dismissed at the stroke of lunch. At that stage, the visitors were 94-6 and still 174 runs shy of New Zealand’s first-innings score.
After the break, De Kock and Bavuma proceeded to counterattack. The momentum shifted as the pair scored at a rapid rate. De Kock and Bavuma remained at the crease for the duration of the session to bring their side back into the contest.
The Proteas lost four wickets in the first session on day two. The visitors dominated the second session, though, with a 114-run effort that put a big dent in the deficit.
De Kock brought up his half-century in only 55 balls. While Bavuma was the more circumspect of the two, he also scored his runs at a relatively brisk rate.
Indeed, the ease with which the pair scored only served to highlight the poor shot selection by the top-order batsmen earlier in the day. The pitch at the Basin Reserve has looked great for batting on day two.
De Kock and Bavuma have already amassed 124 for the seventh wicket. They will look to bring South Africa closer to New Zealand’s score in the third session.
NZ 268 (1st innings) – Henry Nicholls 118, BJ Watling 34, JP Duminy 4-47, Keshav Maharaj 2-47
SA 218-6 (1st innings) – Quinton de Kock 63 not out, Temba Bavuma 61 not out, Colin de Grandhomme 3-33, Tim Southee 2-65
South Africa trail by 50 runs
