After having a rough day on the field in Durban, South Africa’s star batsman AB de Villiers had to face a question on Test future, but he handled it with complete optimism. AD reckons that since his return from a long Test sabbatical, he hasn’t been thinking about too long.

Giving an apt answer to all his critics as he was the top-scorer in the Test series against India. He also acknowledged the fact that he was in the form of his life after the series-clinching win in Centurion. On Day 2 of the first Test against Australia, when none of the other South African batsmen had any answers for the two-pronged rampage from Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, he finished unbeaten on 71.

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Talking about his form, De Villiers said, “The Indian Test series was one of the biggest ones I’ve have played in when it comes to intensity and heat out there. Obviously, it [against Australia] is a big series. We haven’t beaten Australia at home. I am taking it one game at a time, I can’t afford to look too far ahead. Loving my cricket, I am loving the environment and hopefully, it will continue for a long time.”

AB de Villiers was the only half-centurion of the line-up and was part of the biggest partnership of the South African innings – 42 runs with Quinton de Kock. Talking about the same he said, “I’m not sure what I did differently. I just felt really good leading up to this Test in the nets, did some really good things in the nets, and I felt confident going into the Test. You don’t always feel that way in Test cricket. Not enough partnerships. That’s the key to our downfall. No real good partnerships that absorbed the pressure enough.”

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He further added, “I just tried to hang out there today for as long as I could and try and find a partnership with someone. I try and read the situation. Sometimes it requires me to be more aggressive and other times to pull back and not get out. I was going to be a bit more aggressive towards the end but those last three wickets fell in no time.”

Day 2’s play ended with the hosts getting bundled out for 162, handing Australia a massive first-innings lead, but de Villiers retains faith that South Africa can still ‘pull off something special.’ He said, “We are not far off but the deficit looks really bad. The wicket is getting harder by the day and it won’t be easy for them to bat out here tomorrow. It’s up to us to make sure we have the right game plans in place. We can pull off something special. We are not out of it.”