“We’re hoping that we can keep showing character tomorrow,” said South African batter, Rassie van der Dussen, at the end of Day 3 of the second Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval. 

After bowling out New Zealand for 293, South Africa finished the day at 140/5, leading by 211 runs. Van der Dussen’s 45 off 85 balls was instrumental to South Africa’s second innings total, as the rest of the batting lineup struggled to cope with the changing conditions and the unrelenting discipline of the New Zealand bowling attack. 

Van der Dussen conceded that South Africa would have been better off had they lost fewer wickets, but they are still “reasonably happy.” Van der Dussen and the rest of the batting lineup wanted to attack more in the second innings to put pressure on the New Zealand bowling unit.

“They’ve got world-class bowlers, they don’t give you much. I was a bit streaky there, more than how I normally play because I had to put pressure on them,” said van der Dussen. 

With South Africa’s lead currently at 211 runs, van der Dussen hopes South Africa can set New Zealand over 300 runs to chase. “The wicket is playing pretty good. We need to get to that 300 mark.”