Rassie defends late use of Maharaj: 'De Grandhomme put us under pressure'

Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen defended Dean Elgar's belated use of Keshav Maharaj in New Zealand's first innings at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch 

Colin De Grandhomme walked in on the second afternoon of the second Test between South Africa and New Zealand, from where he freewheeled himself to a 50 off 36 balls.

This necessitated the introduction of Keshav Maharaj, who tied down De Grandhomme to a point where he managed only for more runs in 25 balls on the second evening.

SCORECARD | New Zealand v South Africa, 2nd Test

Proteas captain Dean Elgar resumed with pace on the third morning, an error that allowed De Grandhomme (120*) and Daryl Mitchell (60) to score 63 runs in the first hour.

Maharaj was introduced 45 minutes into the session, the spinner broke the 133-run stand when he accounted for Mitchell leg-before.

Such was the control exerted by Maharaj, De Grandhomme's second 50 came off 102 balls.

Van der Dussen was correct in saying SA's seamers bowled well as Lutho Sipamla and Wiaan Mulder controlled the run rate as best, while Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen shared nine wickets.

"I thought our seamers were decent this morning. There were a few plays and misses," Van der Dussen said.

"You have to give credit where it's due. De Grandhomme came out and batted brilliantly. His innings put us under pressure, upped the run-rate and took the game forward.

"Sometimes, you have to say well-played. He got his career-best score and they played well this morning. We knew if we could get one more breakthrough, we could put their tail under pressure and we did that.

"If we can strike early after reaching our intended target, we've got a chance."

Lateral movement has come and gone in the game and while it accounted for Dean Elgar