12/11/2024

Verreynne rescues Proteas with innings of his life after another top-order collapse

Proteas’ wicketkeeper/batter Kyle Verreynne scored his second Test century at a key moment for South Africa in the 1st Test against Bangladesh.

After rolling Bangladesh for 106 in their first innings, Verreynne came to the wicket with South Africa at 99/5, losing their sixth wicket with the score just two runs ahead of Bangladesh’s first innings score.

Verreynne and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder (54) knuckled down to a 118-run stand for the seventh wicket to give South Africa a substantial lead. The Proteas’ keeper/batter was then joined by 34-year-old spinner Dane Piedt, who scored 32 off 87 balls in a 66-run partnership for the ninth wicket that offered Verreynne the time he needed to get to his century.

South Africa were bowled out for 308 when Verreynne was stumped on 114 off 144 balls.

On-fire paceman Kagiso Rabada picked up 2/20 as Bangladesh reached 101/3 off 27.1 overs at the close of play, still trailing by 101 runs.

“It is definitely the best innings of my Test career in probably the toughest conditions I have played under in terms of heat and humidity. Back home we don’t face long periods of spin bowling, but around 90% of that innings was just against spin, so you don’t have much time to reset from a concentration point of view,” said Verreynne at the close of play.

“We spoke to batting coach Ashwell Prince about how we are going to try to go about things. There was no specific emphasis put on playing the sweep, it was more just about how we back our options. Make sure we try to score and not go into our shells. We tried to play positively, get into better positions. It gave me a lot of clarity when I was batting with Dane Piedt and Kagiso Rabada.

“I don’t think there’s been any extra emphasis on the sweep. It is something that I have worked on quite a bit against spinners. It is not really a subcontinent specific thing. I play it back home against spin as much as possible. A lot of guys have different ways of going about playing it. It is one of my strengths so I want to stick to it.”

The Proteas are in a strong position to push for the win, although there is a lot of rain predicted for the next three days.

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