Andrew Hall gave a remarkable display of patience andconcentration to crack a record-breaking maiden century as South Africa battedtheir way to a commanding position in the first Test against India today.
The right-handed Hall slipped into the new role of anopener with consummate ease to score a career-best 163 and take the tourists toa comfortable 459 for seven in their first innings at close on a dreary secondday.
The 29-year-old occupied the crease for a marathon 588minutes and achieved the milestone of becoming South Africa's highest individualTest scorer on Indian soil on a highly frustrating day for the hosts who couldmanage to take just three wickets.
Debutant Zander de Bruyn also made it a memorable Testfor himself as he mixed caution with aggression to score a 206-ball 83, whichincluded six fours and three sixes, on a slow track at the Green Park stadium.
Shaun Pollock was batting on 31 and wicketkeeper ThamiTsolekile was giving him company on five at stumps.
This was the highest first innings total recorded byany visiting team at this venue.
The Indian bowlers were made to toil hard to get any success on the placid pitchthough veteran leg spinner Anil Kumble had the satisfaction of recording his28th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The famed Indian batsmen will now have tobrace themselves up for chasing a mammoth first innings total as, apart from thetwo not out batsmen, spinner Robin Peterson was also regarded as a decentbatsman.
With three full days left, it remains to be seenwhether the South African captain Graeme Smith will declare the innings by thefirst hour's play tomorrow and have a go at the Indian batsmen who have been apale shadow of themselves in recent times.
Resuming at the overnight score of 230 for four, theSouth Africans lost Boeta Dippenaar (48) early in the day but it turned out tobe tough going for the hosts from there on.
The Indians took the second new ball after 93 overs andboth Zaheer Khan and captain Saurav Ganguly obtained some movement from the slowtrack to repeatedly beat the batsmen in the first hour's play.
Ganguly claimed the wicket of Dippenaar inducing him toedge an outgoing delivery to Dinesh Kaarthick behind the stumps. Dippenaar faced127 balls during his knock of 48 which came in 154 minutes and was laced withfive boundaries.
De Bruyn appeared a trifle shaky in the initial stages but gradually grew inconfidence to ensure no more wickets fell in the pre-lunch session which saw thevisitors adding 72 runs to their overnight tally. The Proteas managed to addjust 28 runs in the first hour's play but accelerated the pace of scoring tosome extent after the drinks break.
Hall swept Kumble to the fine leg fence to notch up hismaiden century after batting for a marathon 436 minutes. He eclipsed hisprevious highest score of 99 not out achieved against England at the Leeds in2003.
Harbhajan Singh was introduced into the attackimmediately after the drinks break but the off-spinner could not really make animpact against the two well-set batsmen on the slow pitch.
Hall achieved the statistical milestone of becomingSouth Africa's highest scorer on Indian soil before he fell to Kumble for 163which served as the backbone of the South African innings.
Hall, generally an attacking batsman, curbed his natural strokeplay to play adisciplined knock as he occupied the crease for a marathon 588 minutes and facedas many as 454 balls. His heroic effort contained 17 boundaries. The wily Kumblebrought an end to his vigil by knocking down his stumps around the legs much tothe relief of the home team who toiled hard to break the sixth wicketpartnership.
The pair of Hall and de Bruyn stitched 144 runs for thesixth wicket to put their team in the driver's seat in the post-lunch sessionwhich saw the home team get only one wicket through Kumble.
Kumble recorded his 28th five wicket haul in Testcricket when he scalped Hall, who paid the price for trying to play inside theline and losing his leg stump in the process.
Hall's 163 was the highest individual score by a SouthAfrican on Indian soil, eclipsing Daryll Cullinan's 153 not out during theKolkata Test in 1996-97.
PTI
