South Africa vs India 2018: 2nd Test, day 1, 5 things we learnt

#2 Hashim Amla overcomes shoddy form with sublime knock

Hashim Amla overcame a rut to put India in trouble

Hashim Amla started off shoddily against Ravichandran Ashwin but soon got into his groove with some wristy shots and sublime drives. The no.3 batsman has a woeful record against India in South Africa but defied odds on a good surface to make a fine half-century. He had good company in Aiden Markram and then AB de Villiers but even as both departed, Amla remained rock solid for the hosts.

He earned a reprieve early in the innings when Parthiv Patel put down a chance diving to his left off an edge down the leg-side. Amla made use of his chance and went on to hurt India with knock that has defined the batsman over the years. A direct hit from Hardik Pandya cut short his bid to make a hundred.