By the Numbers: SA skippers' stand

Cricket365
October 25, 2013

The partnership between South Africa Test skipper Graeme Smith and ODI counterpart AB de Villiers lasted for an entire match day, all told, and comprised the vast bulk of the 517 the Proteas scored in Dubai.

338 – Runs for the fifth wicket. They duo batted for 83 overs, starting in the morning of day two when Dale Steyn departed, and ending in the morning on day three, when De Villiers was sent packing.

8 – This was the eighth highest partnership for the Proteas in a Test, against anyone, and their best one for the fifth wicket. It was also the best fifth wicket stand, by anyone, against Pakistan.

5 – This was Smith's fifth score over 200, of which four have come away from home. It was also his 27th Test century, while it was De Villiers' 17th ton.

2/5 – De Villiers now has two of the top five scores by a South African against Pakistan, including the top score of 278 not out he made in November 2010. Smith is second with the 234 he made in this Test, while AB's 164 is fourth.

13 – Smith's knock was the 13th highest by anyone against Pakistan in Tests, and the third highest by anyone batting in a Test in the UAE.

9034 – Smith started the innings on 8800 Test runs, and passed the 9000 mark with his 200th run. This made him the 12th batsman to pass 9000 Test runs, and only the second South African after Jacques Kallis.

4.07 – Run rate. In the course of their stand, the Proteas batsmen went at a relatively cracking pace, with spinners Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqur Babar suffering the brunt of their force on day two.

33 – The number of fours they hit. Smith bagged 16 boundaries, while De Villiers reached the ropes 17 times, and also struck the innings' solitary six. Nine of Biff's fours came on his leg side, while AB was stronger on the off side (11 fours).

4 – Reviews survived. The batsmen found themselves on the positive end of reviews twice each. Smith saw DRS deny Pakistan's appeal both times, while De Villiers used one review himself to overturn a decision, and the other Pakistan wasted.

0 – AB's score when he was dropped. Adnan Akmal let the ball go to ground off the first delivery De Villiers faced. Costly one, that.

7 – Unlucky number for the Proteas. Both AB and Smith got out on day three after adding seven runs to their overnight scores. Also, four other batsmen were out after adding seven runs to the tally (Steyn, Kallis, Duminy, Morkel).

Lindsay du Plessis