South Africa vs New Zealand 2017: 1st Test, Day 1 - 5 talking points

#3 Faf du Plessis' terrific knock and lame dismissal

du Plessis played some sweetly timed shots before Neesham got the better of him

Faf du Plessis walked in with South Africa having their backs against the wall at 22/3. He had seen Wagner dismiss Amla and Duminy in the same over and needed to give Elgar some firm company.

He remained defensive at the start as Elgar pounced on anything loose and wide. His first boundary was a strong sweep shot off Jeetan Patel. He followed that up with another in the next ball. He was fleet-footed against the spinners and smashed Wagner through covers.

A splendid cover drive off Santner helped him to a well-deserved half-century. But Du Plessis got greedy after he was reprieved by the DRS as he pulled a ball from Neesham to Boult in the deep to be dismissed for 52 after a 126 run stand with Elgar.