Indian spinners rattled the South African top-order batting in a tricky run chase as the home side smelled victory by reducing the Proteas to a precarious 56 for five at tea on the third day of the first cricket Test here today.
Chasing 218 for victory on a track which is offering vicious turn, the Proteas still require 162 runs to win the first Test. Stiaan van Zyl (15 batting) and Dane Vilas (6 batting) were batting at the break in a game that has seen fortunes fluctuating.
India folded their second innings at 200 a few minutes into the post-lunch session but wasted no time in getting down to business with the think-tank giving the new ball to spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (1-23) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-11) in South Africa’s run chase.
The visitors’ move of sending pinch-hitter Vernon Philander (1) to open the innings was neutralised when Jadeja sent the batsman LBW on the very first delivery of the second over.
Ashwin spun into action from the other end and dismissed Faf du Plessis (1) caught at slip off a beautiful tossed up delivery that the jittery-looking batsman failed to cope.
The visiting camp were rattled when skipper Hashim Amla was cleaned up for nought by Jadeja after the batsman left a length ball that carried straight in and hit the middle stump.
South Africa were reduced to 10 for three at that stage.
Amit Mishra (1-19), introduced in the 10th over of the innings, then produced the big moment by cleaning up first-innings top-scorer AB de Villiers (16) with a flighted, pitched-up delivery that stayed low and rushed on to the off stump.
Pacer Varun Aaron (1-3), who was brought into the attack after 16 overs bowled by the spin trio, also joined the wicket-takers list after getting Dean Elgar (16) caught at mid-on off a short-of-a-length delivery, which the batsman spooned to Kohli.
In a see-saw game belonging to the slow bowlers, it was the Proteas spinners who made it count this morning as the Indian batting witnessed a dramatic collapse in the first session of play.