“Zondo and Mulder slowing the game down beautifully”: AB de Villiers praises Khaya Zondo and Wiaan Mulder’s determined batting approach as South Africa struggle vs England at The Oval

AB de Villiers praises Khaya Zondo and Wiaan Mulder as they test the England bowlers’ patience with a patient knock during the third Test.

Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers believes South Africa can still make lives difficult for the England batters despite Dean Elgar’s men losing more than half their side during the second innings of the ongoing third Test match at The Kennington Oval.

Five-wicket hauls for pacers Ollie Robinson and Marcon Jansen were instrumental in their sides bundling South Africa and England at the respective scores of 118 and 158 in the first innings.

A lackluster batting performance from both the sides meant that it took mere 36.2 Overs for twenty players to head back towards their respective dressing rooms.

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A 58-run stand for the opening wicket between skipper Dean Elgar (36 off 59) and Saral Erwee (26 off 53), meant that South Africa chewed up the 40-run deficit into their second innings with all their wickets intact.

However, the English pacers yet again brought their side right back into the contest, dismissing the top-4 batters quickly within the 100-run mark.

AB de Villiers praises Khaya Zondo and Wiaan Mulder

With the team now on the back foot, middle-order batters Wiaan Mulder (14 off 52) and Khaya Zondo (16 off 51) decided to drop their guards, and batted for more than an hour, to test the English bowlers’ patience.

AB de Villiers took to his social media handle to praise the duo for slowing the game down, as the team headed towards the 100-run lead in their second innings, with six more sessions yet to take place in the final Test.

He further exclaimed that a 150-run lead in the second innings, would be enough for the South Africans to seal the match and thereby the three-match series, on this seam-friendly track at The Oval.

However, at the stroke of Tea, with both Mulder and Zondo heading back towards the hut, South Africa had mere three wickets left in the bank, with a slender lead of 106 runs.