South Africa’s Faf du Plessis (left) celebrates his first Test century with Jacques Kallis in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide, Australia on Monday.
MELBOURNE: South Africa head into the third and final Test against Australia believing that if all else fails their deep reservoir of grit and determination can still be counted on to confront the most daunting of challenges.
Dominated by Australia for much of the epic, drawn Adelaide Test will feel like more of a victory for Graeme Smith’s injury-hit Proteas, whose batsmen turned a seemingly hopeless cause into a brilliant save on the final day.
The series remains locked at 0-0 after Brisbane and Adelaide, and South Africa’s status as the top-ranked Test side will be re-examined in Perth when the final match begins on Friday.
The Proteas skipper, however, paid credit to the resilience of his players, who remain unbeaten on tour since Feb. 2010.
“It’s really a strengthening point for us considering we haven’t played very well,” Smith said of the Adelaide draw.
“We had another couple of big injuries in this Test match that created a little bit of hassle for us and we still managed to scrape through after not being in great positions.
“We haven’t been at our best but we still haven’t been beaten, and that’s a very rewarding feeling for us.”
Having already lost all-rounder JP Duminy for the series with an Achilles injury, the Proteas withdrew frontline paceman Vernon Philander from Adelaide after he pulled up with a back injury.
All-rounder Jacques Kallis strained a hamstring early on day one to compound South Africa’s woes, but the 37-year-old battled on to score a half-century to help his team avoid the follow-on and then a gritty 38 in the fourth innings.
Duminy’s injury opened the door for Faf du Plessis to produce a sensational debut, with 78 in the first innings and superb century in the second to guide South Africa to safety on day five and earn man-of-the-match honours.
Philander’s replacement Rory Kleinveldt also made the most of his opportunity, taking three wickets to be the pick of South Africa’s bowlers in the second innings after a wicketless debut in Brisbane.
Kleinveldt’s performance, along with a dogged effort from paceman Morne Morkel, did gloss over a patchy Test for South Africa’s bowlers, who were blasted for 482 runs on day one.
Queries over Dale Steyn’s fitness remain after he had treatment for a leg strain.
Meanwhile, Australian media yesterday praised the rearguard action by South Africa to save the second Test and said their survival will feel like a win going into the third and deciding showdown this week.
Debutant Plessis batted throughout the final day for a defiant unbeaten century to guide the Proteas to a thrilling draw in Adelaide, spending almost eight hours at the crease in a feat of physical and mental endurance.
“No faffing about from Du Plessis,” said the Sydney Morning Herald, with cricket writer Malcolm Knox saying the match had everything bar a winner.
“Or maybe not,” he added.
“South Africa’s survival will certainly feel like a win as they go into Friday’s decider, while Australia’s failure to dismiss them in 148 overs will deflate their self-belief beyond quick repair.”
The Australian newspaper called Australia’s inability to nail the win an “heroic failure” while praising the contribution from Du Plessis, who was at the crease for 464 minutes and faced 376 balls in his draining 110.
“One of the joys of Test cricket is when a player explores the limits of their capabilities, proves something they always wondered if they could do, finds a reserve hidden even from themselves,” the paper’s Gideon Haigh wrote.
“Faf du Plessis discovered some things about himself in this marathon Test match in Adelaide -- as have his opponents.”Agencies
