De Zorzi and captain Temba Bavuma forged a 51-run stand, with Bavuma leading the scoring with an impressive 86 off 182 deliveries. After the day’s play, De Zorzi expressed satisfaction with his performance but wished he had accumulated more runs before falling to Jomel Warrican.
Reflecting on his innings, the 26-year-old De Zorzi remarked, “I thought it went fairly well. I would have liked to push on a bit more. Temba and I built a solid partnership after Tristan [Stubbs] was out, so it was crucial to consolidate. I’m content with my contribution to the team’s total.”
When asked about the pitch at Queen’s Park Oval, De Zorzi, still early in his Test career, noted that he has encountered similar conditions in first-class cricket. “We do have a few coastal wickets that play like this in four-day games,” he explained.
“Even in Cape Town and Paarl — though not coastal — the conditions start to resemble this, so I’d say we have some comparable pitches.” With Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder set to bat, South Africa aims to increase their run tally when play resumes at 4pm South African time on Friday.