Ahmedabad, April 06: Jacques Kallis is looking to continue performing at the highest level for several more years after registering his 30th test century in South Africa's resounding second test victory over India.
Kallis's stylish 132 in middle leg of the three-match series which ended on Saturday took him past Australian great Don Bradman's 29 centuries and the 32-year-old all rounder is now level with Australian opener Matthew Hayden.
Five batsmen have scored more than 30 hundreds with India's Sachin Tendulkar on top with 39 centuries.
The only other active cricketer in the group of five is Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has 34 centuries.
Brian Lara of the West Indies and Sunil Gavaskar of India (both 34 hundreds) and Australian Steve Waugh (32) have all retired from the game.
"I never dreamt of doing that (30 hundreds)," Kallis told reporters after the match.
"It's nice to achieve that feat and go past the likes of Don Bradman. It certainly is a great honour and something I'll look at with pride."
Runs milestone
Kallis is also bearing down on the 10,000-run mark in both forms of the game.
Only three cricketers have achieved that distinction to date: Indians Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and Lara.
One of the game's top all rounders, Kallis said even after playing 118 tests and 274 one-day internationals, the desire to play and perform still burns.
"The body is taking a little more (time to recover)," he said.
"I struggle with these long days but I am still enjoying is thoroughly and I hope there is plenty of more years left.
"I am enjoying it, especially the way we are playing our cricket now. We have a nice blend of old guys and young guys and we have started putting performances together like this."
South Africa is looking to score an Asian treble after successes in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Kallis, who has taken over 200 wickets in tests and one-dayers, said it was difficult being an all rounder in the present age because of the excessive amount of cricket being played.
"It's tough unfortunately. It's a worrying thing, with the amount of cricket being played now. Hopefully my body can hold a little longer," he added.
"Our bowlers are doing well. As long as I can keep on at chipping in with the odd wicket, I'll look at doing that."
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, April 06, 2008, 00:00