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- Kyle Verreynne's maiden Test 100 drove South Africa's miraculous second Test recovery, ending day four in a very strong position.
- South Africa declared their second innings on 354/9, leaving New Zealand a world-record 426 to win.
- Devon Conway's unbeaten 50 held up SA's bowling progress on the fourth evening.
Kyle Verreynne's maiden Test ton was at the heart of South Africa's impressive day four showing as they held New Zealand down to 94/4 in the second Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.
The Black Caps require a further 332 runs to win and with the target beyond the highest successful fourth-innings chase in Test cricket, it remains to be seen whether the hosts will muster up the required courage to bat out the day.
Kagiso Rabada (2/17) removed openers Will Young (0) and Tom Latham (1) to leave New Zealand 6/2 after two overs.
Devon Conway (60*) was dropped by Proteas skipper Dean Elgar at silly point in the last over of the day off Keshav Maharaj (2/32), but the left-arm spinner castled Henry Nicholls (7) and Daryl Mitchell (24).
New Zealand's dire position, a 180-degree role reversal from their first Test success, was because of an unexpectedly sparkling maiden century from Verreynne, whose technique, especially when facing Matt Henry (2/81), came under intense scrutiny.
SCORECARD | New Zealand v South Africa, Second Test, Day Four
With South Africa resuming on 140/5, a delicate balance of attack and defence had to be struck. The exuberance of youth from Verreynne (136*) and Mulder (35) meant they went for the offensive despite the iffy nature of SA's tail.
It was a move that paid off as the first hour saw SA make 52 runs for the loss of Mulder, who was brilliantly caught behind by Tom Blundell off Kyle Jamieson (2/81).
Verreynne was on 48 at the time and proceeded to his first Test 50 off 97 balls, but with SA slowing down slightly to 232/7 at lunch, Verreynne also moved himself to 76 for the loss of Marco Jansen (9).
Jansen was the victim of an otherworldly catch by Will Young at deep midwicket. The opener clung onto a skier that Jansen had clubbed off Colin de Grandhomme (1/16), scurrying around the boundary, catching the ball with one hand while ensuring he didn't touch the boundary rope.
What Jansen's dismissal did was to bring Rabada (47) to the crease and it was this stand that truly took the game away from New Zealand.
Rabada's domination of the 78-run stand for the eighth-wicket that came off just 63 balls allowed Verreynne to glide to his 100 off 158 balls.
In that time, Rabada bashed four fours and four sixes in his 34-ball knock that deserved to be a 50, but the key part of their alliance was the energy that saw them club 50 runs in the first 20 minutes after lunch.
It was a mini-session that, along with the 65-run fourth-wicket stand between Rassie van der Dussen (45) and Temba Bavuma (23) and the 78-run sixth-wicket partnership between Verreynne and Mulder, initially drew the sting from New Zealand's bowling before knocking the stuffing out of them.
Verreynne shared stands with Maharaj (4) and Lutho Sipamla (10) that raised 57 runs of 69 balls, allowing Elgar to declare 20 minutes before tea.
The bowlers then went to work and set SA on their way to defend their impeccable series record against New Zealand.
Scores in brief:
SA: 364 and 354/9 declared (Kyle Verreynne 136*, Kagiso Rabada 47, Rassie van der Dussen 45, Neil Wagner 2/81, Kyle Jamieson 2/81, Matt Henry 2/81)
NZ: 293 and 94/4 (Devon Conway 60*, Daryl Mitchell 24, Henry Nicholls 7, Kagiso Rabada 2/17, Keshav Maharaj 2/32)
New Zealand need 332 runs to win
