In a free-flowing session on the third morning, South Africa extended their overnight total by as many as 136 runs, taking their first innings advantage to 147. Marco Jansen was undefeated at 72, his greatest Test score, while Dean Elgar (185) fell victim to a short ball, but not before scoring his second-highest Test score.
With the new ball scheduled to arrive soon, India’s two strongest bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, began the day with brief bursts of three overs each, which South Africa managed to pass without losing wickets. And the runs came thick and quick after Prasidh Krishna entered the game to bowl as a first-changer. After the big pacer’s three overs yielded 24 runs, he was replaced by the costly Shardul Thakur.
After that, Bumrah and Siraj bowled a few tight overs with the second new ball, but they were unable to separate Elgar and Jansen, who were a tough duo to break. The pair proceeded to score 111 runs for the sixth wicket when Elgar was caught in a tangle while attempting to navigate the short ball, thanks to Shardul’s magic ball. The goalie received a glove at the end.
Even after that, Jansen and Gerald Coetzee kept attacking, and to further matters, Shubman Gill dropped Coetzee at first slip. However, after a challenging session, Ravinchandran Ashwin had him caught at mid-off in his subsequent over, allowing India to enter the lunch break feeling somewhat relieved.
Brief Scores:
India 245 trail South Africa 392/7 (Elgar 185, Jansen 72*; Bumrah 2-59, Siraj 2-90) by 147 runs
