Patron’s XI v South Africans, Karachi, 1st day
Kallis and Amla guide South Africa to 295
South Africans 294 for 5 (Amla 87, Kallis 73, Rizwan 3-90) v Patron’s XI
A 130-run third-wicket partnership between Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla guided the South Africans to a respectable 295 for 5 on the first day of their first tour match against the Patron’s XI in Karachi.
Having won the toss and chosen to field, Patron’s XI were faced with the South African openers Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs hoping to make full use of an opportunity to spend time out in the middle. A slow but steady start saw only 35 runs being scored in the first hour as fast bowlers Anwar Ali and Junaid Zia toiled zealously under a blazing Karachi sun.
Both failed to get any movement off the seam but did have a couple of leg-before shouts turned down, and an outside edge off Graeme Smith’s bat landed just in front of Taufeeq Umar at first slip. Zia was replaced by Uzair-ul-Haq in the 12th over as Umar searched desperately for a wicket.
The breakthrough, however, came through Rizwan Ahmed, the legspinner, off his third delivery. Smith missed a wide one down the leg side and as his momentum took him forward, Sarfraz Ahmed completed a smart stumping. The South Africans lost another wicket before lunch when Gibbs was caught by Mansoor Amjad at point for 31.
Kallis and Amla then came together and, after a slow start, both increased the run-rate gradually as they were gifted loose deliveries. The first six overs after the break produced only five runs, but Ahmed’s over-pitched legbreaks were regularly dispatched to the boundary from then on. The re-introduction of Uzair-ul-Haq to the attack saw induced two edges off Amla’s bat but both evaded Umar at first slip; his next over saw the scoring rate increase with Kallis pulling him for two boundaries.
Umar tried no less than seven bowlers, but to no avail as the pair posted runs authoritatively. The partnership was finally broken by Anwar when Kallis loosely drove a fullish delivery to midwicket where Zia took a sharp, low catch. Kallis, who had not played international cricket since South Africa’s tour of Ireland in June, made 73 off 105 deliveries.
Ashwell Prince did not last long, caught bat-pad off Rizwan for 1. Amla and AB de Villiers maintained the momentum in a stand of 69. Amla was unlucky to fall short of a well-deserved century, caught at deep-point cutting uppishly at Rizwan. His 87 off 155 deliveries included 10 fours and a brace of sixes.
Mark Boucher and de Villiers safely negotiated the remaining 16 overs as Umar opted to stick with his spinners, shunning the new ball.
Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, praised his batsmen after a good performance. “It is better for the batsmen to spend some tome in the middle as opposed to nets we are short of time for the first Test so this was a good boost for us.”
He also singled out Kallis’ performance after a long lay-off. “Kallis is a class act. He walked straight out and played the way he did was a bonus for us.”
SOURCE: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakvrsa/content/story/312727.html
Scorecard: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/299002.html
Teams:
Patrons XI: Taufeeq Umar (capt), Asim Kamal, Junaid Zia, Shahid Yousuf, Anwar Ali, Mansoor Amjad, Rizwan Ahmed, Adnan Raza, Uzair-ul-Haq, Babar Naeem, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Zohaib Khan
South Africans: Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (wk), Dale Steyn, Andre Nel, Paul Harris, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel