NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa’s wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne said his innings of 114 on day two of the first Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka is the best knock he has played so far in his Test career. The 27-year-old scored his maiden Test ton in New Zealand in 2022 but given the conditions in Bangladesh, he has rated this knock slightly higher.
After South Africa bowled Bangladesh out for 106 in the first innings, they lost six wickets with 108 runs on the board. It looked like they would miss out on a substantial first-innings lead but that’s when Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder (54) put on 119 runs for the seventh wicket. Verreynne, who hit eight fours and two sixes in his 144-ball knock, then added 66 runs with Dane Piedt for the ninth wicket.
"It is definitely the best innings of my Test career. It is probably the toughest conditions I have played under in terms of heat and humidity. Back home we don't face long periods of spin bowling. Around 90% of that innings was just against spin. Things happen quickly. You don't have much time to reset from a concentration point of view. This was certainly my most rewarding innings,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Verreynne as saying.
"This (century) felt like better just in terms of the context of the game and the conditions. I think New Zealand is a lot similar to our conditions back home. To do in the continent in quite a tough wicket and tough circumstances, it is probably a better innings. The impact will hopefully be bigger than the first (century). I am really happy with it. It has been a long time since the one in NZ, so it is nice to get in another one."
Verreynne scored a lot of runs via sweep. "Wiaan Mulder and I, and the batters chatted this morning. We spoke to batting coach Ashy P (Ashwell Prince) about how we are going to try to go about things. There was no specific emphasis put on playing the sweep.
"It was more just about how we back our options. Make sure we try to score and not go into our shells. We tried to play positively, get into better positions. We spoke to Ashy P about batting with the tail. It gave me a lot of clarity when I was batting with (Dane) Piedt and KG (Kagiso Rabada).
"I don't think there's been any extra emphasis (on the sweep shot). It is something that I have worked on quite a bit against spinners. It is not really a subcontinent specific thing. I would play it back home against spin as much as possible. I faced a lot of spin out there today so it is kind of what I am trying to do.
"A lot of guys have different ways of going about playing it. For me, this is something that I worked on. You saw Wiaan (Mulder), (Tony) de Zorzi and Ryan (Rickelton) scored runs through other areas. It is one of my strengths so I want to stick to it."
Thanks to him, the Proteas managed to take a lead of 202 in the first innings. Bangladesh are 101/3 in the second innings, still trailing by 101 runs. Verreynne said the surface will only get tougher and tougher as the game goes on.
"I think this morning (the pitch) played better than yesterday morning. I don't know if it dried out or there wasn't as much moisture. It seems to be getting tough as the day has gone on, so tomorrow and going further in the Test, (the pitch) will get tougher and tougher."
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