Hashim Amla praises Graeme Smith knock as influential

Triple-centurion Hashim Amla has praised his captain Graeme Smith's 131 in South Africa's first innings as a major influence in how the Proteas batted.

Amla hit 311 not-out on the way to South Africa's declaration on 637-2, and the 29-year-old believes that Smith's gritty 131 set the team on their way.

"Graeme batted superbly," Cricinfo quotes Amla as saying. "His knock was a major stepping stone for us in our big total - the way he managed to grind it out.

"We went through patches where we didn't score a lot and then either he would score freely or I would. That's the beauty of a big partnership."

Amla's knock was South Africa's highest in Test history, surpassing teammate AB De Villiers' previous high of 278.