All-rounder Rachin Ravindra continued to enhance his reputation with figures of three for 33 as New Zealand reduced a weakened but resilient South African side to 220 for six on the first day of the second test at Seddon Park on Tuesday. The Proteas won the toss and elected to bat on a bright, sunny day in Hamilton. However, similar to their thumping 281-run loss in the first test, they scored slowly and struggled to convert starts into substantial tallies until the final session of the day.
Ruan de Swardt, who was 55 not out, and Shaun von Berg, unbeaten on 34, will resume on day two, having added 70 for the seventh wicket as the visitors aim to avoid becoming the first South African team to lose a test series to New Zealand
“It was quite a hard graft out there. I thought the New Zealanders bowled pretty well, but for me, it was just getting stuck into them, having that mental toughness, and keeping going,” said de Swardt. “If we can bat well tomorrow, get past 300, 350, we’re definitely in with a chance.”
At 37, Neil Wagner is at the other end of the experience spectrum and he struck next, a trademark short ball sending Raynard van Tonder back for 32 after a diving catch in the gully from Tom Latham. Ravindra, the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year and scorer of a double century in the first test, took over to tear the heart out of the middle order with his left-arm spin.
Zubayr Hamza had made 20 when a wild slog sent the ball looping up to backward point where Mitchell Santner, dropped from the team but on the field as a substitute, took the catch. Keegan Peterson followed cheaply two overs later when he edged a Ravindra delivery to Tim Southee in the slips, and David Bedingham (39) was unfortunate to exit when the ball came off his toe, onto his bat, and straight to the short-leg fielder.