After South Africa's top-order failure on the second evening, a trial against spin awaited the visitors on the third day. But Dean Elgar along with Faf du Plessis first and then Quinton de Kock prevailed over the challenges in style. Through it all, India were forced to rethink plans constantly and toil longer for their wickets, reports Cricbuzz.
The trio had different methods of tackling the spin challenge. Elgar preferred the lofted shots, hitting as many as eight boundaries with it. One of it also brought up his first Test ton on Indian soil. Along with his skipper, who employed the sweep diligently, he put India's premier spinner Ashwin under early pressure. De Kock, against a tiring Indian attack later in the day, cashed in on the fuller ones, driving seven boundaries through the covers as he too brought up his 5th Test ton.
For the first half an hour or so, it went according to what they'd envisaged. Ishant had Bavuma nicking through the slip cordon in the first over, but quickly changed to a more-straighter line that has made him more potent in the subcontinent. The move paid quick dividends with Bavuma caught in the crease against a grubber that also darted in. Caught plumb in front, he departed without bothering a review.
That brought in South Africa's skipper, who after a quiet ten-ball start, changed gears. Sweeping Ashwin and flicking Mohammed Shami, his first three scoring shots were all boundaries. Elgar recognised the shift in momentum and kept it up at his end as well, lofting Ashwin for a boundary as well. Both batsmen registered their highest scores in India with Elgar getting past fifty as well in the morning.
Soon after the break, after du Plessis managed a fifty of his own, with the 115-run association finally broken by Ashwin who had the skipper caught at leg slip. Quinton de Kock was dropped on 7 by Rohit Sharma at silly point, but quickly managed to reverse the pressure with booming drives as the spinners tried to entice a mistake.
Elgar slammed a six over midwicket to get to his ton in emphatic fashion and dug in thereafter to allow de Kock to take over. The keeper-batsman, in typically brisk fashion, turned the dominant partner in a 164-run association for the sixth wicket.
The second new ball did not pay the sort of dividends that India had hoped for as the partnership grew, as did India's frustration. The breakthrough finally resulted when Elgar tried to stay on top of the spinners but holed out to deep midwicket, giving Jadeja his 200th Test wicket.
De Kock, who like Elgar brought up his ton with a six, was later cleaned up by a neat Ashwin set-up, and bowled through the gate but only after knocking down 111 quick runs.
Vernon Philander became Ashwin's fifth victim late in the day, but South Africa ended 117 adrift, having eaten into the deficit considerably. And getting all the more closer to the possibility of escaping defeat.
