Rain Disrupts 3rd Test Between Australia and South Africa
Australia stands at 494 for the loss of 7 wickets at the second day of the Test Series against South Africa hosted at Cape Town. Michael Clarke who built a formidable innings stands at an unbeaten 161. But the sudden rain put Australia in discomfort as they were looking for a formidable score with three days left in hand for play and South Africa is still to bat.
Players left the field as rain sets in just after the start of second session and the match has now been officially called off for inclement weather. The next session is due to start Tuesday at 10 AM.
Having a delectable performance in the 2nd test by South Africa equaling the level to 1 -1, Duminy who bagged "Man of the Match" award in the last match continues showing his skills as a bowler in the 3rd test taking two consecutive wickets of BJ Haddin and MG Johnson and moving towards hat-trick when unfortunately the rain disrupted the play. Duminy ended up taking 4 crucial wickets in 17 overs with 73 runs.
Clarke started the day on 92 and took around 50 minutes to reach the century. It was the bowling of Kyle Abbot that restricted Clarke to a certain degree. As he reached 99, Clarke played safe playing 23 deliveries from Abbot and Philander until he found a suitable loop in the cover for a boundary. This is Clarke's second test century in Cape Town and also his 10th 150-th score in test cricket. As a captain, he scored 13 centuries in his test match career.
Also the 184 run partnership between Steven Smith and Clarke is the best record for Australia as fourth wicket stand in South Africa. Though Clarke was nervous at the initial stage but slowly he regained his composure after he scored the ton. However it was Smith who kept the scorecard ticking when Clarke virtually stopped scoring in the morning of Day-2. Later Smith was bowled over by Elgar on 84 runs.
Besides Clarke, Warner also played a formidable innings (135 runs from 152 deliveries) on the 1st day and even Shane Watson adding up a quick 40 run stand on just 32 deliveries. The pitch is quite conducive for batting and also proved good for occasional spinners, as Elgar and Duminy continued their scathing attack keeping Australia under control.
Overall it is interesting to see which way the direction goes on Tuesday and it seems like a draw is on the cards.