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At SuperSport Park, South Africa ended the day for 94 for 4 with Elgar remaining unbeaten on 52 as the Indian batsmen fell on the track with uneven bounce, all out for 174 in just 50.3 overs.
It was another failure for the experienced trio of skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, but the fast bowlers again turned the match in India’s favour. With 211 runs required and six wickets in hand, the final day could be an interesting battle at the cards but the Indian team will pray that Thursday’s prediction of afternoon rain doesn’t come true.
Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen (11 off 65 balls) added 40 runs but more importantly, they batted for more than 22 overs as the pitch was receding a bit. When the game looked to be deviating, Bumrah (2/22) went outside the crease and got the ball to bite back late when van der Dussen, thinking it would go straight, decided to go side by side. .
And then at the stroke of the stumps, a fatal delivery completely spoiled the stuffing of the night watchman Keshav Maharaj (8).
Even Mohammad Siraj (1/25) took the outside edge of Keegan Pietersen (17) to bowl one that was complicit and went late. Aiden Markram was the first to be dismissed as he failed to get his bat off Mohammed Shami (1/29), who gave an extra bounce after landing at the perfect seam.
Indian bowlers would be aware that there have been instances when they have failed to finish the tail on the final day, the latest one being the Kanpur Test and with rain sure to be a factor here, they would be running against time. However, it should be mentioned that the cracks were widened and helped the South African pacers in the morning session, with some deliveries coming from behind the length.
South Africa benefitted from the use of heavy rollers and the aging of the Kookaburra by the 15th over, but the quality and skill-set of the Indian fast bowlers left the opposition short in time. If there’s any concern, it’s Pujara (16), Kohli (18) and Rahane (20) playing some indiscreet shots while others were done by widening the cracks, which led to awkward deliveries from short lengths.
KL Rahul (23), Rishabh Pant (34) and Ravichandran Ashwin (14) made a big impact on him in the form of Kagiso Rabada (4/42), debutants Marco Janssen (4/55) and Lungi Ngidi (2/31) . The one-and-a-half session that the Indians batted was dangerous. South Africa have more than 140 overs to score 305 runs but chasing down the highest successful target of 251 by England in 2000-01 on this SuperSport Park pitch will be an uphill task.
Bumrah, Shami and Siraj have been a tall order in South Africa’s batting line-up. The Indian team is certainly grateful for the opening day’s openers and a consistent pace bowling unit that has helped them regain control of the proceedings.
Otherwise, the middle order has cut a sorry picture and skipper Kohli, who has been doing a lot with some captivating boundaries but a tendency to run fuller at anything outside the off-stump, is causing his downfall. Young Jensen, who impressed the India captain as a net bowler during his last tour of 2018, will certainly remember his debut as he inspired the captain to drive.
Pujara once again played a lot of dot deliveries and then tickled Quinton de Kock on the leg side off Ngidi. Rahane was the most embarrassing to get out when he hit Jenson for a six and a four.
The first hook shot was from a bouncer over his left shoulder and the second one was a little lower on his right shoulder. He could not check his pull-shot and was dismissed at deep square leg. Had it not been for Pant’s counter-attack run-a-ball 34, India would not have got the psychological advantage of a 300-plus target.
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