South Africa ended day two of the second Test against New Zealand at Centurion in cruise control, snaring three quick wickets quickly after declaring at 481/8 in the first innings. Led by Faf du Plessis's hundred, the Proteas piled on the misery for the Kiwis despite Neil Wagner's (5/86) brilliance. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander then took a wicket each to leave the visitors in disarray at 38/3, 443 behind South Africa.
After what seemed like an eternity, all the South African top-order batsmen came good with the top five going past 50. Du Plessis roared back to form after a string of failures over the past year. The stand-in skipper was not the only batsman who got a new lease of life. JP Duminy, who had started so well and looked set to score a ton, missed out, making 88.
Stiaan van Zyl, who was drafted into the side in place of Dean Elgar, gave Du Plessis good support in the middle, who, after a watchful early start, was slamming boundaries regularly. South African-born Wagner was the pick of the bowlers by some distance for New Zealand. Tim Southee and Trent Boult yet again struggled for control and had only one wicket to show between them after toiling away for a combined 69.4 overs.
Du Plessis completed his hundred and Steyn had some fun, smashing spinner Mitchell Santner for back-to-back sixes by the time declaration was called.
The New Zealand openers struggled for a second straight time, with Martin Guptill and Tom Latham falling quickly. While Steyn, Philander and Kagiso Rabada were spitting venom, New Zealand shot themselves in the foot by Ross Taylor dashing off for a needless single. Temba Bavuma, with a direct hit, got South Africa their third wicket before the close of play.
Brief scores:
South Africa 481/8 decl. (Faf du Plessis 112, JP Duminy 88, Quinton de Kock 82; Neil Wagner 5/86) lead New Zealand 38/3 (Kane Willimson 15 not out; Vernon Philander 1/10) by 443 runs.