Rassie van der Dussen says Proteas aiming to set 300 for NZ to chase

Johannesburg - The Proteas remain hopeful that the Hagley Oval pitch will deteriorate, despite weather forecasts for the next few days in the climax of the second Test, not favouring such a development.

Rassie van der Dussen said on Sunday that the pitch - a different strip to the one used last week - while drier than for that first Test, was still playing very well.

“We hope it deteriorates late on day four and then day five so that our spinner can come into the game,” van der Dussen commented after another enthralling day’s play.

South Africa take a 211-run lead into the fourth day on Monday with five second innings wickets still in hand. Temperatures for the remainder of the match are forecast to be less than 20 degrees celsius, with heavy cloud cover and some rain on Tuesday.

Although South Africa’s spinner Keshav Maharaj, did get one delivery to grip, bounce and spin sharply late on day two, there wasn’t anything similar on Sunday. It was a risky selection on the touring team’s part given the history of Hagley Oval, which has not aided spin, and which actually gets better for batting the longer the game continues. However Maharaj provided excellent control in New Zealand’s first innings, while also claiming the crucial wicket of Daryl Mitchell.

Van der Dussen said South Africa would be pleased with a fourth innings target in the region of 300 runs.

“The one I got out to, the ball just sat up on that short length which (suggests that) if the wicket becomes two-paced, it will make batting really tricky. Temba (Bavuma) went out caught cover which is not a dismissal that is normal for him - I think the ball just stuck a bit in  the wicket. That's a good sign for us. If it goes sideways and stops a little, it becomes