New Delhi: Skipper Virat Kohli (83 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane (52 not out) led India's second innings resurgence after pacer Morne Morkel had struck early blows for South Africa and helped the hosts reach 190/4 at stumps on the third day of the fourth and final cricket Test here on Saturday.
Coming together when the hosts were reeling at 57/4, Kohli and Rahane completed their respective half-centuries and produced a 133-run partnership at the Ferozeshah Kotla. India, who have a 2-0 unassailable lead, are now 403 runs ahead with two days to go.
Kohli was unbeaten on 83 -- his 12th Test half-century -- to lead India out of trouble along with Rahane. He hit 10 boundaries during his stay in the middle.
Rahane was in equally good form at the other end. The Mumbai batsman, who had scored a century during India's first innings, donned the saviour's role in the hosts' second essay as well. He scored 52 runs, studding his knock with five hits to the fence.
Morkel was the most impressive among the Proteas bowlers. The experienced pacer beat the batsmen frequently with his pace and movement for figures of 3/29. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir had figures of 1/49.
Kyle Abbott, the other pacer in the South African attack, also bowled well, and will perhaps consider himself unlucky not to come away with a wicket.
Starting their second essay with a 213-run first innings lead, India lost early wickets as Morkel bowled a fiery spell in the pre-lunch session. Fellow pacer Abott was also bowling well at the other end as the Indians took time to open their account.
Read Also: 4th Test, Day 3: Kohli, Rahane take India to 116/4 at tea against SA; hosts lead by 329
The hosts lost two quick wickets when Morkel sent back opener Murali Vijay and the off-colour Rohit Sharma in quick succession.
Vijay (3) was surprised by the extra bounce of a Morkel delivery that appeared to brush his gloves on the way to wicketkeeper Dane Vilas. But television replays later showed that the ball did not touch his gloves.
Rohit fell victim to the first ball he faced, a beautiful delivery from Morkel that generally held its line with a slight outward movement after pitching on the good length spot.
Rohit probably expected the ball to angle in, and could only watch helplessly as his off-stump was uprooted.
Morkel struck again immediately after lunch with an accurate, in-swinging yorker right into Dhawan's blockhole that clipped off the bail on the leg-stump.
Kohli was lucky to get a let-off when he edged Tahir to the wicketkeeper. But the delivery was adjudged to be a no-ball.
Cheteshwar Pujara looked promising during his 28-run knock which included three hits to the fence. But the Saurashtra batsman was outfoxed by a faster delivery by Tahir that pitched on a fuller length before hitting the off-stump.
Pujara's departure saw Rahane join Kohli in the middle and the duo proceeded to try and salvage the Indian innings.
Rahane had a narrow escape early in his innings when Morkel almost found the outside edge of his bat.
But Kohli and Rahane ensured that the Proteas did not enjoy any more success from thereon as they proceeded to help the hosts tighten their grip on the match.
Kohli, Rahane take India to 116/4 at tea against SA; hosts lead by 329
Skipper Virat Kohli and first innings centurion Ajinkya Rahane conjured a 59-run partnership after a mini-collapse as India reached 116 for 4 at tea against South Africa on the third day of the fourth cricket Test, here today.
India's overall lead has swelled to 329 with Kohli again looking in good nick -- unbeaten on 39 -- alongside the ever-dependable Rahane (22).
The Indian captain so far has faced 63 balls hitting five boundaries while Rahane has struck two boundaries facing 82 deliveries.
Morne Morkel was the best bowler in view for the Proteas with figures of 3/22 in 14 overs -- the stand-out delivery being the scorching yorker which dismissed Shikhar Dhawan.
Rahane joined his skipper with India reeling at 57 for four and they coolly took the score past three-figure mark.
Their 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket was achieved in only 81 minutes after playing 101 balls.
Obviously the huge first innings lead and the amount of time left in the game ensured that they could play freely.
Kohli hit a glorious cover drive off Abbott, one past backward point off Morkel and tucked one to square leg boundary as he quickly reached 30.
Rahane, on the other hand, was happy to nudge and push around letting his captain play the role of an aggressor. In between, a stand-out shot was a clip off his hips to dispatch Morkel to the boundary.
Earlier, India started the day on a disastrous note, losing Vijay to a lethal short ball bowled by Morkel. The tall speedster hit the back of length area and the ball kicked up viciously.
The normally technically sound Vijay tried to awkwardly fend it off to get out of the way. The ball looked like brushing his armguards before being taken by Dane Vilas behind the stumps as he timed his jump to perfection.
This team management promoted Rohit Sharma at No 3 trying to give him some valuable time with less pressure and a sizeable lead on the board. But the Mumbai lad again disappointed his fans as Morkel bowled one fuller that move a shade to rattle his off-stump.
Rohit Sharma fails as India reach 51/2 at lunch against SA
New Delhi: Rohit Sharma's promotion to No.3 failed to yield any better result than his first innings show as India reached 51 for two at lunch on the third day of the fourth and final cricket Test against South Africa, here today.
The overall lead thus swelled to 264 with Shikhar Dhawan was batting on 20 in company of Cheteshwar Pujara (27 batting) at the break.
The duo added 43 runs for the unbroken third wicket after Murali Vijay (3) and Rohit (0) were dismissed by Morne Morkel (2/10 in 7 overs) with only eight runs on the board.
Pujara and Dhawan played cautiously hitting a few boundaries in between to bring up the 50 of the innings in the 26th over.
Earlier, India started the day on a disastrous note, losing Vijay to a lethal short ball bowled by Morkel.
The tall speedster hit the back of the length area as the ball kicked up viciously.
The normally technically sound Vijay tried to awkwardly fend it off to get out of the way. The ball looked like brushing his armguards before being taken by Dane Vilas behind the stumps as he timed his jump to perfection.
The team management promoted Rohit at No 3 trying to give him some valuable time with less pressure and a sizeable lead on the board. But the Mumbai lad again disappointed his fans as Morkel bowled one fuller that move a shade to rattle his off-stump.
Pujara, who sustained a bruise in his forearm yesterday and could not field, carried on manfully in the second innings. He faced 68 balls to hit three boundaries while a more cautious Dhawan hit only two boundaries in his 72-ball stay at the wicket.
Pujara whipped Dane Piedt through midwicket for a boundary while he faced some difficulty facing Kyle Abbott and got a couple of streaky boundaries.
Dhawan, however, was more assured against Abbott as he twice hit off-drives to collect his boundaries but was apparently more cautious against the spinners.
Piedt (0/19 off 9 overs) and Tahir 90/3 off 3 overs) also bowled tightly during the first session.
