Thakur rocks SA before AB strikes a ton

Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President’s XI which ended in a draw here on Saturday.

The visitors, replying to Board XI’s modest first innings tally of 296 and commencing the day at the overnight 46 for 2, were reeling at 57 for 5 following a double strike by Thakur before recovering through two partnerships -- both involving de Villiers (112) — to aggregate 302 for a token lead of 6.