A maiden century from Kyle Verreynne was crucial to the Proteas surging ahead with an all-around masterclass on day 4 of the 2nd Test against New Zealand.

With the match evenly poised at the start of Day 4, the most pivotal of opening sessions was beckoning.

Under immense pressure, Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder had a nervous start in the first hour of play, but both batters soon found their range. Verreynne was adept with his cuts and pulls, while Mulder was resolute in defence at the other end.

Fortunately, Mulder was able to find the boundary after a rather sedate start, but an industrious partnership of 78 runs came to an end when wicketkeeper Tom Blundell held one to a difficult one-handed catch to send Mulder back.

As much as this breakthrough kept New Zealand in the game, the lead was already above 250, and the foundation was set. Verreynne continued to score all around the ground, but another moment of brilliance from NZ brought forth another wicket.

Marco Jansen had tirelessly frustrated the bowlers with his blocking, but an attempted slog towards deep midwicket was his undoing. Will Young made plenty of ground and claimed a diving one-hander. South Africa were 7 down, but they made the Blackcaps toil hard to get even the slightest reward.

If the first session was a mixed bag, the second session was when the Proteas rapidly raced ahead and left no stone unturned. Kagiso Rabada crunched an on-drive on the second ball after lunch, and two overs later, walloped a four and a six off Tim Southee. The aggression continued, as Rabada continued his effortless, clean hitting over midwicket and long-on, against Southee and Henry.

Meanwhile, Verreynne continued to keep the score ticking along and got among the boundaries, too. Rabada’s entertainment reached its finish at 47, agonizingly short of what would’ve been a very deserving maiden Test half-century. A poorly timed slog from the speedster provided a simple catch for long-on, but the damage had already been dealt.

The man of the moment undoubtedly was Verreynne, who brought up his first Test ton with a boundary past fine leg. It was an occasion to cherish for the young wicketkeeper-batter, who was badly in need of a big score. He continued to hurt the Blackcaps bowlers with a flurry of boundaries off Jamieson.

Shortly after crossing the 350 mark, Dean Elgar opted to declare, bringing an end to a successful second innings and setting up an enormous fourth-innings target of 425 for the hosts to chase.

The unbridled dominance from South Africa continued to swell, as opener Will Young edged a drive to gully in the very first over. Once again, it was Kagiso Rabada making things happen early on. It only got better in his second over, when skipper Tom Latham flicked it straight to Rassie van der Dussen, who took a very agile catch at short leg.

With a nearly insurmountable deficit and two early hiccups, the pressure continued to pile up for NZ. Another impressive bowling change was bringing on Keshav Maharaj, who also struck in his first over to remove Henry Nicholls. A delivery that prodigiously turned from well outside off breached Nicholls’ defence and the Blackcaps were three down for not much.

Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell began the reconstruction soon after. Mitchell struck two consecutive sixes off Maharaj in an attempt to unsettle the spinner, and Conway soon found his rhythm as well.

They compiled a well-made 56-run stand but Elgar’s persistence with an extended spell from Maharaj reaped its benefits. On this occasion, a delivery that didn’t turn much and went on with the arm dislodged Daryl Mitchell’s stumps. It was a crucial breakthrough, right when NZ were beginning to have some semblance of solace after the early blows.

South Africa, at the moment, are clearly the favourites to square the series – they have another six wickets to get, and it will be a herculean task for the Blackcaps to save the game. The final day awaits us, and there’s no doubt that it’ll be another gripping day to round off the tour.

SA 364 + 354/9d (Verreynne 136)
NZ 293 + 94/4 (Conway 60 – Rabada 2/17, Maharaj 2/32)