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Du Plessis and Bavuma bat Proteas into commanding lead

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FAF DU PLESSIS and Temba Bavuma shared by far the biggest partnership of the Castle Lager Test Series to date to give the Standard Bank Proteas a first innings lead in excess of Pakistan’s first innings total on the second day of the second Test match at PPC Newlands on Friday. The stand for the fifth wicket was worth 156 runs and that included the first instance of the series on surfaces that are by no means easy of a team batting through a session without losing a wicket. This happened between the lunch and tea intervals when they added 93 runs. In the process Du Plessis scored his 9th Test century (103 off 226 balls, 13 fours), his first at Newlands and also his first against Pakistan. The elusive second Test century again eluded Bavuma (75 off 162 balls, 10 fours) as both batsmen perished against the second new ball when batting conditions became a lot more testing with both batsmen carrying a significant number of bruises as their badges of honour. Once again Bavuma demonstrated his ability to make important runs when it really counted. With the Pakistan seamers threatening throughout the morning session when the Proteas were able to score only 65 runs for the loss of the wickets of Hashim Amla and Theunis de Bruyn there was the real possibility of a repeat of the first Test scenario when the Proteas enjoyed only a slender lead. But Bavuma and Du Plessis put that prospect to bed as they first wore down the Pakistani bowlers and then exacted full toll. This was a continuation of previous innings Bavuma has played under pressure, most of which have been abroad under foreign conditions.
Recent examples were seen at both Perth and Hobart in 2016 and at Wellington in New Zealand a year later. Quinton de Kock then consolidated the Proteas position further with the fourth half-century of the innings to take the Proteas lead past the 200-run mark. He finished on 55 not out (72 balls, 7 fours) as the Proteas extended their lead to 205 with four wickets in hand. Shaheen Afridi (3/112) was the most successful bowler but the fact that Yashir Shah was not able to fulfil a holding role, going for four runs to the over, put a heavy workload on all the seamers who have bowled 86 overs in the match between them to date. The Sunfoil Education Trust (SET) has benefited to the tune of R323 000 from the number of fours and sixes hit and wickets taken by the two sides in the series with the running tally for the current match being R90 000. The players on both sides score income for the fund by hitting boundaries (R1 000) and sixes (R2 000) and taking wickets (R2 500)
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Cricket
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