A.B. de Villiers notched a timely century Saturday in the South Africans' drawn tour game against an Indian Board President's XI.
De Villiers, who struck three centuries in the preceding one-day series in which South Africa beat India 3-2, hit 112 off 131 balls with 18 fours to take his team's first innings to 302 in reply to 296.
De Villiers took control in the company of wicketkeeper Dane Vilas (54). They added 115 for the seventh wicket after the South Africans were struggling at 111-6, having resumed the day on 46-2.
Dale Steyn then chipped in with a useful 37 off 28 balls with one six and six fours.
Pace bowler Shardul Thakur took two wickets in the morning to finish with 4-70 while off-spinner Jayant Yadav and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav grabbed two wickets each.
The hosts scored 92-0 in their second innings as the two-day game ended in a draw.
The test series starts Thursday with the first game at Mohali. The remaining games will be played in Bangalore, Nagpur and New Delhi.
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Scores:
Indian Board President's XI 296 in 78.5 overs (Lokesh Rahul 72, Naman Ojha 52; Simon Harmer 3-41, Dale Steyn 3-46) and 92-0 (Cheteshwar Pujara 49 not out, Lokesh Rahul 43 not out); South Africans 302 (A.B. de Villiers 112, Dane Vilas 54; Shardul Thakur 4-70).
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