Matt Renshaw hammers his second Test hundred: Key stats
What's the story
Australian batter Matt Renshaw rescued his team with a brilliant century on Day 2 of the opening Test against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban. The left-handed batter, who made his Test debut against the same team in November 2016, became the first Australian to score a Test century on South African soil in over 12 years. Thanks to his brilliance, the Aussies went past the 270-run mark despite being reduced to 124/6 at one stage. Here are further details.
Knock
A brilliant knock from Renshaw
Renshaw came to bat when Australia lost its third wicket at a score of 84 runs.
He countered the South African bowlers bravely and took the innings forward.
The left-handed batter was then involved in a vital 86-run stand with skipper Pat Cummins (43), taking the Aussies past 200.
Renshaw later also dominated a 134-run partnership with Nathan Lyon (27) and completed his ton during the course.
Historical context
First Australian with Test ton in South Africa since 2014
Before Renshaw, David Warner was the last Australian to score a Test century in South Africa, as per Cricinfo.
Warner had scored an impressive 145 runs in the second innings of a Cape Town Test in March 2014.
Notably, Renshaw recently made a comeback to the Aussie Test XI.
The Mackay Test against Bangladesh in August marked his return.
Notably, Renshaw opened in that game but batted at five in the Durban affair.
Milestone achievement
Second Test century for Renshaw
Renshaw's century against South Africa is his second triple-digit score in Tests.
His first Test century was against Pakistan in Sydney in January 2017, where he scored an impressive 184 runs off 293 balls as an opening batter.
Renshaw, who also owns three Test fifties, raced past 760 runs across 16 Tests at 33-plus.
The 30-year-old now has 27 tons and 24 fifties across 135 First-Class games. This includes over 8,300 runs at 37-plus.
Feats
Renshaw rewrites the record books
As per Cricinfo, Renshaw recorded the fourth-highest individual Test score by a visiting batter while operating at five or lower in South Africa.
Renshaw and Lyon's 134-run stand is the highest for the ninth wicket by a visiting batter in South Africa.
This is also the second-highest stand for Australia for this wicket.
Information
Renshaw is back and how
As per Cricbuzz, Renshaw scored a Test century after 9 years and 280 days (3567 days) - the third longest gap between two Test centuries for an Australian after Warren Bardsley's 13 years and 346 days (1912-1926) and Bob Simpson's 10 years and 1 day (1968-1978).