AB de Villiers makes his 100th Test appearance on Saturday hoping to inspire his South African teammates to a series-levelling victory over India at the second Test in Bangalore.
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While Abbott will be keen to impress in what could be his first Test since December 2014, Philander’s injury will be a fresh blow to South Africa’s efforts at levelling the four-match Test series, the visitors having lost the first encounter at Mohali inside three days. AB de Villiers, who will be playing his 100th Test in this match, however dismissed quickly and summarily any talk of the Mohali pitch giving India an “unfair” advantage. De Villiers said both the batsmen are well equipped to play on tough Indian conditions.
While insisting he is not one for nostalgia, De Villiers admitted it would be special to mark the occasion in the Indian city. He returned to the top spot in Tests on 10 November and is also placed second in the list of top ODI batsmen.
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He also holds the records of fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls) in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). I don’t think I can turn my back on that. “If on Friday we get sunshine like today, I’ll be the happiest man”. I want opposition to be hard, to play to win games for their team. But two or three of our batters looked comfortable on that surface and Elgar and van Zyl come to mind. I know my role in the side and that’s to win games for my team. Dale Steyn did not bowl for the whole of India’s second innings in Mohali due to an injury that occurred while fielding. “Both teams struggled against spin – you can read the scorecard and see that”, De Villiers said. I don’t care where I play my 100th Test. I would have been okay if it’s in Bangladesh as well. We’ve had a few good Test series here – haven’t won it yet but a couple of draws which was big time against what people expected us to achieve.
