Ashwin Strikes Early On Day 3; Amla, Du

The visitors will start the third day at 2-32, chasing a further 278 runs for victory in a match where 32 wickets have fallen over two days on the dusty, deteriorating pitch at the VCA stadium.

The winning sequence was broken by the rain-hit second Test against South Africa in Bangalore, where the last four days were washed out.

It was the first away series loss in nine years for South Africa, and dashed high expectations from the top-ranked test team, which had won a preceding five-game one-day worldwide series 3-2 and a three-game Twenty20 series 2-0.

Ashwin was the star of the show, claiming figures of 7/66 in the second innings.

Off-spinner Ashwin took 5-32 in the first innings and shone again on Friday to move above Stuart Broad as the leading Test wicket-taker this year with 55 and give India an unassailable 2-0 lead with one match remaining.

“I think the Indian spinners have landed the ball more consistently than our spinners, and asked questions for a longer period of time”, South Africa coach Russell Domingo said.

The fourth 10-for in 31 tests for Ashwin was supported by legspinner Amit Mishra, who accounted for South Africa high-scorers captain Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, who made 39 runs apiece. The southpaw took his chance and slogged spinner for a six over mid-wicket and it only fired up the bowler. Pacer Ishant Sharma also bowled well, helped on by the unpredictable bounce and movement offered by the uneven surface. In Mishra’s next over, du Plessis played over an attempted pull and was bowled.

Both of them added 72 runs in around 48 overs before Mishra bagged their wickets in two of his successive overs.

South Africa suffered crucial blows early in the day when opener Dean Elgar got a thick inside edge off an Ashwin delivery.

Ashwin had already struck in the first over of the day, when Dean Elgar chopped onto his stumps, when a series of ricochets ended up in the hands of Ajinkya Rahane after Amla attempted a sweep.

In fact even Amla and du Plessis could have been back in the pavillion had it not been the “lives” they got because of the home fielders.

However, the contest of the day was between Ashwin and the visitor’s best batsman AB de Villiers.

Talking about the recent brouhaha over the state of pitch affairs, the Delhi batsman said he doesn’t dwell on it, because, India play to win and every side should accommodate themselves to the given conditions, be it home series or away series.