Jonny Bairstow’s 99 pushes England to 362; South Africa lose Dean Elgar before lunch, Day 2, 4th Test

Jonny Bairstow scored a 99 that pushed England’s score to a competitive 362 at the end of their innings. South Africa, on the other hand, lost their first wicket in the very first over of their innings as Dean Elgar showed poor defense.

With 260 for 6 on the board at the end of Day One of the fourth Test, Joe Root must have hardly thought another hundred and two will be added to the scorecard. However, a consistent Jonny Bairstow continued to serve as a perfect middle-order batsman, playing brilliantly with the tail-enders on Day Two of fourth Test and scoring a 99 that pushed England’s score to a competitive 362. South Africa, on the other hand, lost their first wicket in the very first over of their innings as Dean Elgar showed poor defense to get out for a 3-ball duck. It was local boy James Anderson claiming a wicket from the James Anderson End.

The day did not start on a cheerful note for England. Toby Roland-Jones showed way more confidence than needed, playing a bizarre shot, which ended up as a regulation-catch for Temba Bavuma at point. Kagiso Rabada, removing Roland-Jones, got his third wicket of the innings and gave his side the day’s first breakthrough. All Bairstow, at the other end, needed was support, which was primarily provided by Moeen Ali and later on by James Anderson. The rotation of strikes was very wisely done, which gave Bairstow more deliveries to face. Making most of the shots look effortless, Bairstow got to his 17th half-century and then looked to convert it to a hundred. South Africa, who earlier dominated in the match, brought some changes in their game plan but Bairstow looked unstoppable, picking gaps wonderfully.

However, he remained unlucky to remain 1 run short of his fourth Test ton. While Anderson survived the deliveries he had to face to give the strike back to Bairstow, the latter was caught plumb off a Keshav Maharaj delivery. The review confirmed umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to be right.

Rabada remained the pick of the bowlers with his 4-for.

Anderson provided England with the perfect start, as Elgar was caught plumb off the third delivery of the innings. As play resumes, Heino Kuhn (4*) will bat with HashimAmla (6*).

Brief scores

England 362 (Joe Root 52, Ben Stokes 58, Jonny Bairstow 99; Morne Morkel 2 for 92,Kagiso Rabada 4 for 91, Keshav Maharaj 2 for 58) lead South Africa 12 for 1 (Heino Kuhn 4*, Hashim Amla 6*; James Anderson 1 for 5) by 350 runs

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