KANPUR, Nov 21: Opener Andrew Hall hit a record 163 for his maiden Test century to put South Africa in command on the second day of the first Test against India on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Hall, opening in a Test for the first time, batted for nearly 10 hours to enable the unfancied South Africa pile up 459 for seven wickets on a dusty Green Park pitch.
Hall eschewed all aggression to anchor the innings and leave the tourists in a perfect position to pile pressure on the demoralised hosts on a pitch expected to gradually deteriorate.
Hall shared in a 144-run sixth-wicket partnership with debutant Zander de Bruyn (83) to cap his series of stands to bind the innings before he was the sixth batsman to be out. His total was the highest Test score by a South African batsman in India, improving upon Daryl Cullinan's 153 not out made during the 1996-97 tour.
He was eventually bowled round his legs just before tea by Anil Kumble, giving the 34-year-old leg spinner his 28th five-wicket haul in a Test innings. Hall faced 454 balls and hit 17 fours.
De Bruyn went on to hit a stroke ful 83, studded with three sixes against Harbhajan Singh, before he was out to the off-spinner towards close of play. The 29-year-old batsman added 60 runs for the seventh wicket with Shaun Pollock but missed out on a deserved century.
At the close, Pollock was batting on 31 with debutant wicket-keeper Thami Tsolekile on five as the visitors looked to pile on the agony for India. Kumble, the only bowler who looked like taking wickets on the slow pitch, claimed five for 116.
Hall's previous highest Test score of 99 not out, versus England in Headingley last year, was a racy 87-ball effort. But asked to open in the absence of Herschelle Gibbs, he switched down gears to telling effect and India paid the price for Kumble dropping him on 55 on the first day off Harbhajan.
South Africa, overnight 230 for four, lost Boeta Dippenaar for 48 early in the day when captain Saurav Ganguly had him caught behind with the second new ball. The fifth-wicket partnership between Hall and Dippenaar yielded 87 runs. But the unflappable Hall drove Ganguly for two consecutive fours through cover to move into the 90s and swept Kumble to fine leg to reach his hundred, punching the air in triumph before raising his bat to acknowledge a standing ovation from the 25,000 strong crowd.
De Bruyn lofted Harbhajan for three sixes and swept strongly as he joined the experienced Pollock, reducing the Indian spinners to attacking the pads to cut down the runs. He faced 206 balls in his more than five-hour stay, hitting six fours and three sixes.
SCOREBOARD
SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings):
G.C. Smith b Kumble 37
A.J. Hall b Kumble 163
M. van Jaarsveld lbw b Kumble 2
J.H. Kallis lbw b Kumble 37
J.A. Rudolph b Kumble 0
H.H. Dippenaar c Karthik b Ganguly 48
Z. de Bruyn c Dravid b Harbhajan 83
S.M. Pollock not out 31
T.L. Tsolekile not out 5
EXTRAS (B-9, LB-22, W-1, NB-16, PR-5) 53
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 182 overs) 459
FALL OF WKTS: 1-61, 2-69, 3-154, 4-154, 5-241, 6-385, 7-445.
TO BAT: R.J. Peterson, M. Ntini.
BOWLING (to-date): Zaheer Khan 29-7-59-0 (8nb, 1w); Ganguly 12-2-45-1; Kumble 50-13-116-5 (1nb); Harbhajan Singh 43-9-110-1; Kartik 39-12-57-0 (7nb); Tendulkar 9-0-36-0.
INDIA: V. Sehwag, G. Gambhir, R. Dravid, S.R. Tendulkar, S.C. Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, K.D.D. Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, A. Kumble, M. Kartik, Zaheer Khan. -Reuters