VVS Laxman's second innings record is bound to give South Africa a sleepless night on Monday. The batsman has played many match-winning or game-saving knockslt, and the situation after the second day in the Kingsmead Test was tailor-made for him.
"We're aware of the danger Laxman poses to us. We've seen him play under pressure, and the best part about him is that he manages the other end really well. He gives a lot of confidence to the batsmen at the other end, and we will certainly need to get rid of him as early as possible," said AB de Villiers.
India held a 166-run lead in the match dominated by bowlers so far.
Cheteshwar Pujara also showed lot of grit and courage against the pacers towards the end of the day's play. The youngster looked unruffled unlike his more accomplished team mates who succumbed to it. "He's given a good account of himself so far and is doing exactly what's expected of him," said Harbhajan Singh.
Even as 18 wickets fell in the day, AB de Villiers and Harbhajan said it did not reflect the nature of the wicket. "There's nothing wrong with the wicket, we just batted poorly," said de Villiers. Harbhajan added: "I don't know what happened. Wicket is fine, we just need to play better."
{{/usCountry}}Even as 18 wickets fell in the day, AB de Villiers and Harbhajan said it did not reflect the nature of the wicket. "There's nothing wrong with the wicket, we just batted poorly," said de Villiers. Harbhajan added: "I don't know what happened. Wicket is fine, we just need to play better."
{{/usCountry}}Harbhajan said a total of above 300 would be challenging for South Africa, who in turn want to restrict the lead to around 250. "We will be really comfortable with that, but we feel anything around 300 could also be chased," he said.