Rickelton, Bavuma hit tons as Proteas dominate first day of Newlands Test

Rickelton, promoted to open in the absence of the injured Tony de Zorzi, was imperious as the left-hander batted the entire day to finish on an unbeaten 173 while Bavuma struck 106 as the Proteas made a strong start as they look to close out the series.

Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first on an overcast morning in Cape Town with the hosts 1-0 up in the two-match series after a dramatic two-wicket victory in Centurion that sealed a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Mohammad Abbas was close to giving the tourists the perfect start when the seamer thought he trapped Aiden Markram lbw with the first ball of the game, but Indian umpire Nitin Menon turned down the huge appeal and then DRS showed the ball only clipping the stumps.

Markram and Rickelton then added 61 and batted out the first hour before seamer Khurram Shahzad made the breakthrough getting Markram to edge behind to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for 17.

The wicket triggered a mini-collapse as Wiaan Mulder (5) and Tristan Stubbs (0) fell just before lunch as the home team went to the interval on 72-3.

Rickelton and Bavuma then took control of the innings and batted out the entire second session with the former going to his second Test hundred off 135 deliveries while his skipper reached a half-century.

The hosts went to the tea break on 184-3 and the duo continued to dominate the Pakistan bowling after the interval as the pair upped the tempo with the run-rate continually at four to the over.

Bavuma went to his century with 35 minutes of the day still remaining, off 106 balls that included nine fours and two sixes.

The skipper then lost his wicket just before the close of play, edging spinner Salman Agha behind and walked back to the dressing room to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Newlands.

David Bedingham (4 not out) then kept Rickelton company until stumps as the Proteas look to bat big in the first innings on the second day. 

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