By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Johannesburg : If it were not for a match against India that was declared to have non-test status in 2001, South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis would have surpassed Sir Donald Bradman’s 29 Test centuries last week.
Reflecting on his achievement against New Zealand at Centurion after hitting 131 in a partnership of 220 with Hashim Amla last week, Kallis told the Afrikaans daily Rapport here Sunday: “In my mind I had already hit 30 centuries.”
Kallis and then-captain Shaun Pollock both scored centuries against India, but could not add these to their tallies after the ICC declared the game to have non-test status following Indian allegations of ball tampering.
“Hopefully I have silenced for a while the detractors who say I bat too slowly,” Kallis added about the fastest century of his career.
“Especially in the last year or two I’ve been very satisfied with the tempo at which I’ve notched up my runs. Things are working out well for me at this stage.”
Kallis was full of praise for his partner Amla, South Africa’s first and still only national squad player of Indian descent: “Although we bat very differently, we complement each other very well. (Amla) has clearly worked hard on the technical shortcomings of his batting and it shows.
“We’ve had several big partnerships recently and it’s nice to be already so used to each others’ playing styles that we almost each know what to expect from the other.”