India returned some of the largesse that the Proteas had dished out to them on day one as the two battled for first innings superiority on day two of the second Sunfoil Freedom Test match at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

India’s key initial target was to remove the remaining four Proteas first innings wickets as quickly as possible when play resumed but they made life hard for themselves as they missed two chances offered by Kagiso Rabada and one by Faf du Plessis as the latter rallied the home side’s lower order to the extent that they put on 83 runs for the last four wickets, 66 of which were scored on the second morning as Du Plessis completed 17th career half-century (63 off 142 balls, 9 fours).

South Africa suffered a potentially disastrous double run out for the second time in six months against India as the visitors arguably had the better of day one when the second Sunfoil Freedom Test match got underway at SuperSport Park on Saturday.

In the closing hour that bore an uncanny reminder of what happened in the ICC Champions Trophy in England last year the Proteas went from a comfortable and controlling 246/3 to 269/6 at the close.

Vernon Philander took the final three India second innings wickets in the space of four balls – the first with a sensational catch by Quinton de Kock standing up to the stumps – to snuff out any thought of a final twist in the tale of the first Sunfoil Test match at PPC Newlands on Monday to clinch a 72-run victory for the Proteas.

Prior to Philander’s triple strike there was just a chance that India might pull off an improbable win as Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar put together an eighth-wicket stand of 49 after India had collapsed to 82/7 in pursuit of a victory target of 208 which was only one run short of what they had managed in the first innings.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) today announced that Makhaya Ntini, the National Team Bowling Coach, had tendered his resignation from ZC, with immediate effect.

Since his appointment in February 2016, Makhaya has brought a wealth of experience and practical knowledge to ZC, and ZC and its players and coaching staff were fortunate to have had an opportunity to work closely with him during this period, and to learn from his many years of playing for Cricket South Africa at the highest level.