Hashim Amla hit a century as South Africa enjoyed the better of the morning session on the second day of the first Test against India to reach lunch 404 for five.

Amla was unbeaten on 124 while Mark Boucher was 26 not out as poor bowling let down the tourists in Chennai.

South Africa had started the day in a strong position on 304 for four and lost just one wicket before lunch as AB de Villiers was dismissed six runs short of his half century with an hour of the morning gone.

Amla had started the second day on 85 while de Villiers resumed on 10 not out and in the second over of the day the latter had picked up two quick fours.

De Villiers helped himself to another boundary soon after when he capitalised on a poor delivery by Harbhajan Singh before Amla also found the ropes as the tourists got off to a quick start.

India's poor bowling continued as Amla hit three fours in one over to reach his century but, with South Africa having racked up 49 runs from just seven overs, India finally made a breakthrough when de Villiers was dismissed for 44.

The 24-year-old tried to drive Sreesanth through the off-side but got a the thick outside edge that flew to MS Dhoni, who pouched a diving catch.

It disrupted South Africa's flow somewhat but Mark Boucher picked up his first boundary of the day four overs later and then continued to steadily hit a number of fours to help guide the hosts to 404 for five at lunch.

More news from SportingLife.com

Live scorecards from SportingLife.com