South Africa A have amassed an imperious 343/3 against India A in Bloemfontein. Despite the two early wickets of SJ Erwee and Raynard van Tonder, the hosts were hardly perturbed when skipper Pieter Malan and left-hander Tony de Zorzi got right to work.

Both batters went on to reach triple digits, and added 217 runs between them. De Zorzi was slightly more of the aggressor, but boundaries were frequent throughout their stand. It was smooth sailing until the young pace ace Umran Malik castled de Zorzi for 117.

Fortunately, the arrival of Jason Smith continued to keep the momentum going. Malan crossed the 150 threshold, while Smith brought up a half-century of his own towards the back end of the third session. The South Africans will be eyeing a massive first-innings score in order to ensure that the visitors are at bay.

SA A 343/3 (P Malan 157, T de Zorzi 117, J Smith 51)

Photo: Cricket South Africa