Nagpur Test, Day 3: India 8 wickets far from series win

Though the Proteas were better with the ball in the second innings as they dismissed India for 173, it meant South Africa were set an unlikely 310 to win on a wearing pitch with three days to play.

India bowled out South Africa for 79 and 185 to win by 124 runs on the third day of the third test. India won the series 2-0 with a match to spare.

India opener Murali Vijay’s first-innings 40 was the highest individual score in the match but Kohli believed there was nothing wrong with a track that saw 40 wickets tumble in three days.

Ashwin and Jadeja wreaked havoc on a pitch which was a spinner’s paradise with prodigious turn and variable bounce.

This is the lowest total by any team against India in the longest format of the game. For almost a decade since 2006, the African giants had not lost a Test series overseas.

Before this, Sri Lanka held the record for the lowest total against India.

“They showed that batting was not impossible”, Ashwin said after collecting the man-of-the-match award and taking his series-leading haul to 24 scalps. The innings of these batsmen were dismissed by Amit Mishra who picked up 3 wickets in the innings. Pacer Ishant Sharma also bowled well, helped on by the unpredictable bounce and movement offered by the uneven surface. While Amla has managed to score just 54 runs in the series so far, Faf has managed a mere 11. South Africa 105 for 4.

The left-hander survived a few close calls before being trapped leg before by Amit Mishra for 35. Kohli believed it was a challenging wicket.

FINALLY! some resistance from South African batsmen.

Ashwin was the lone Indian bowler to taste success in the morning by accounting for the two wickets to fall – overnight not out batsman Dean Elgar for 18 and the visitors’ major hope A B de Villiers for 9 in the space of 18 balls with classical off-spinner’s thought process.

South Africa fell to the guile of Ravichandran Ashwin once again. Things were quiet for the first three overs before Elgar, given a juicy half volley on middle stump, slog-swept Ashwin over the mid wicket fence for a six. The ball hit Amla’s arm and bounced off the back of the bat near the toe end. The ball bounced off wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha’s shoulder and Ajinkya Rahane grabbed it in the slips.

Here we go… Players are ready.

The home team’s bowlers were kept at bay by the stone- walling tactics of Amla and Du Plessis resulting in the post- lunch hour of play producing a measly 21 runs in 19 overs.

Duminy was left in the company of tailenders very soon and the innings ended after just 92 minutes Thursday.