South Africa will be out to build a big lead in their second innings and bat New Zealand right out of the first Test in Dunedin. Join The Roar for live scores of the fourth day’s play from 9am (AEDT).
The tourists are on top of the match as they look to continue their second innings on the fourth day after knocking New Zealand over for a very small first innings lead yesterday.
After being sent into bat on the first day of the match, the Proteas immediately found themselves 3 for nothing and in a lot of trouble.
A spirited effort from Dean Elgar, who scored a century brought them back into the contest and gave them a very competitive first innings score of 308.
Playing two spinners seemed to backfire on the Kiwis and they needed a big first innings lead to move ahead in the match, however apart from a Kane Williamson century there was little resistance and they were eventually brought back to earth, all out for 341 with Keshav Maharaj taking five wickets.
They managed to grab a lead of 33 and would have hoped to hold South Africa down in the run to stumps, but only took one wicket and are already behind, the score reading 1 for 38.
Despite Maharaj taking five, neither of the Kiwi spinners took a wicket in the ten overs they bowled to stumps with Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar looking solid.
Day 4 Prediction
The Proteas were slightly behind on first innings, but already in the lead they will be looking to bat most of the day out and build a score that bats New Zealand right out of the game.
The pitch seems to be playing similar to it has for the much of the match and a fourth innings chase of anything over 250 is going to be tough. South Africa should be able to build that up today with Elgar continuing and the middle order pitching in.
The big question is whether they will reach a declaration today. It all depends on the pace of the game, however one would think the tourists might like to have a crack at the Kiwi top order for a few overs before stumps after a long day in the field.
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