da leao： Contrasting hundreds from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers pulled SouthAfrica out of strife and into a position of considerable comfort at theSheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi
The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin20-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis’ counterattack turned the tables after South Africa had been reduced to 33 for 3•AFP
Contrasting hundreds from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers pulled SouthAfrica out of strife and into a position of considerable comfort at theSheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi. Debutant seamer Tanvir Ahmed had reducedSouth Africa to 33 for 3 but Kallis and de Villiers punched back witha 179-run stand that left South Africa handily placed on 311 for 5. ForPakistan, only Tanvir could look back on the day with similar pride.The Kallis-de Villiers stand was the tenth century partnership in 32innings between the pair and it was done with such aggression it suggested were in trouble when they came together. Kallis’s fightbegan the moment Graeme Smith became the third victim of a hectic morningand though his mien remained as expressionless as usual, his game wasunusually expressive.He had hooked an uncontrolled six by the time a swish of fortune sashayedin. Mohammad Sami’s first over captured an entire career: one unplayabledelivery, honest endeavour but batsman ultimately supreme. Having beenbeaten by a beauty, Kallis coolly cover drove the next two balls for fourand the day’s mood changed.Sami was plundered repeatedly, everywhere and anywhere and even Umar Gulwasn’t spared a fine pull and efficient drives. Either side of lunch twotowering sixes off Abdur Rehman brought one message: ‘I am Kallis, youare nothing’. Not a particularly attacking spinner on his best days,Rehman immediately retreated, the supremacy in the relationshipestablished. By then a swift fifty had been notched up as casually asa snap of the fingers.de Villiers was twitchier, a more impish presence and not just because hedoesn’t have Kallis’ broad-chested appearance. Whereas Kallis imposedhimself on matters, de Villiers took advantage of Pakistan’s growingflakiness. When they pitched short, he gladly cut; when they got too fullhe happily drove; when they drifted to his pads, he politely clipped away.Five overs after lunch a century partnership was registered and by thistime, the surface had lost its early morning friskiness. Boundaries weremostly controlled, though with Sami around control remained a relativeconcept. In any case, runs were so readily available no risk needed to betaken. One flick brought up a fifty for de Villiers. As an afterthoughtKallis brought up a fifth hundred in four Tests against Pakistan, in whichhis lowest score is 59; in his first 11 against them, he had only one. Itwas his fastest century as well.When Kallis fell, de Villiers carried on, though with the sadness andrestraint of someone who has lost a partner. He was comatose during thenineties, only waking up once four freebie overthrows from Gul took him to99. It would’ve been impolite to not take a single next ball. Essentiallythe day ended there for him.Pakistan were fitful, not stringing together any sustained pressure. Tanvirwas responsible for the highs, further proof that whatever hole they findthemselves in, there’s always a fast bowler to get excited about.A month shy of his 32nd birthday, he was an unlikely hero and not justbecause he is probably the best bowler ever born in Kuwait. The pitch atTest cricket’s 103rd venue had enough moisture in it early on to temptMisbah-ul-Haq to bowl. It was a second gesture of positivity; the firsthad been to revert back to Pakistan’s traditional strengths by selecting athree-man pace attack.Tanvir has long been a steady hand at the domestic level; sharp enough, always tightand if conditions are right, eminently capable of exploiting them. So inhe ran as Pakistan’s oldest debutant new-ball bowler, a heavy action and agrunt at release and did precisely that. Immediately he became the sixthPakistani to take a wicket in the first over and a typical scalp too,full, searching for swing, finding an edge. It was his 400th first-classwicket. Five balls later he had another and Test cricket was looking aneasy game, though admittedly Asoka de Silva had a greater hand in HashimAmla returning to the pavilion.Later, through a long afternoon Tanvir maintained a pleasant discipline andthe wicket of Kallis after tea helped Pakistan slow down the scoring. Butafter the first hour the bluff had gone from the rest and the attacklooked precisely what it was: quite weak. Gul looked good in patches, Samia man condemned and Rehman the wrong choice.The umpires, who got four decisions clearly wrong, had a worse day.