The SA group reached 220/6 when stumps have been drawn.
Though they nonetheless had a whole lot of work to do after they returned to the sphere within the early hours of Wednesday morning (SA time), the Proteas have been relieved to have put up extra of a combat on the opening day of the second Test towards New Zealand in Hamilton on Tuesday.
Trailing 1-0 within the two-match sequence after being handed a crushing defeat within the first match final week, the inexperienced SA group dug deep to maintain themselves afloat within the early phases of the second fixture, led by a defiant knock from Ruan de Swardt.
Having received the toss and chosen to bat, many of the touring group’s high order made begins, however they didn’t convert as they reached 150/6 shortly after the tea break.
De Swardt caught his heels in on the crease, nonetheless, hitting his maiden half-century in his second Test.
The 26-year-old all-rounder shared an unbroken 70-run stand for the seventh wicket with 37-year-old debutant Shaun von Berg, because the duo guided their group to 220/6 at stumps, with De Swardt on 55 not out and Von Berg unbeaten on 34.
Rachin Ravindra was the perfect of the Black Caps bowlers, taking 3/33 after ripping by the Proteas’ center order.
‘Hard graft’
“I thought the fightback from our batters was unbelievable,” De Swardt mentioned after the shut of play.
“I knew it was going to be quite hard graft out there and I thought the New Zealanders bowled pretty well. But for me it was just about getting stuck into them, having that mental toughness and just keep going. It was nice to put the team in a good position.”
David Bedingham, who hit 39 runs, was equally delighted with the all-round effort because the Proteas tried to keep away from a historic Test sequence defeat to the Black Caps.
“It was nice to see some fight. The coach (Shukri Conrad) asked for that coming into this Test and I’m glad we showed lots of fight, especially towards the end of the day,” Bedingham mentioned.
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