A BELEAGUERED Proteas bowling attack wilted under the onslaught of the Indian batsmen as the visitors reached 284 for 2, a lead of 321 runs, on day three of the first Test at the Wanderers, in Johannesburg.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay joined forces to bludgeon an unbeaten 191-run partnership at the close of play.
Pujara, not out on 135, brought up a fluid century, off 168 balls, as India turned the screw in the final session, scoring 178 runs off 38 overs.
Vijay, centurion from the first innings, had moved on to 77.
Pujara was given a reprieve on 51 when Imran Tahir put down a caught and bowled chance, as a first ever Test win against India at the Bullring seemed increasingly unlikely.
South Africa were dealt a cruel blow before lunch when key bowler Morne Morkel injured his ankle. He will not bowl again in the match and only bat in the second innings if absolutely necessary.
South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee later said Morkel would likely be out of action for seven to 10 days, and was, therefore, doubtful for the Boxing Day Test in Durban.
In Morkel’s absence, captain Graeme Smith bowled JP Duminy for 11 overs, and resorted to giving wicketkeeper AB de Villiers an over before tea.
Earlier in the day, Vernon Philander brought up his 100th Test wicket with the scalp of Shikhar Dhawan in the eighth over of India’s second innings.
The 28-year-old also became the fastest South African bowler to 100 wickets, taking just 19 Tests to achieve the feat. Philander pitched the delivery short of a length and Dhawan edged to Jacques Kallis at second slip, as India lost their first wicket with the score on 23.
Kallis took the only other Indian wicket to fall with a ball down the leg side which Murali Vijay edged to De Villiers for 39.
Philander returned figures of 1/53 while Kallis had to settle for 1/51 as the rest of the attack remained wicketless. Imran Tahir battled to find any kind of reasonable length and conceded 55 runs off his 11 overs.
Earlier, South Africa added just 31 runs to their overnight total of 213 for six before being bowled out for 244.
Philander, resuming on 48 overnight, moved to his half-century off the first ball of the day.
Another boundary followed in the same over as South Africa looked to whittle down the deficit.
After racing to 59, Philander was outdone by a probing delivery on offstump from Zaheer Khan which took the edge and was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin at first slip.
The wicket brought to an end an 80-run partnership between Philander and Faf du Plessis (20).
South Africa added just five more runs before Khan had the last say with a yorker to dismiss Morkel.
Khan took 4/88 in his comeback Test. — Sapa
Morkel loss a huge blow
Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay joined forces to bludgeon an unbeaten 191-run partnership at the close of play.
Pujara, not out on 135, brought up a fluid century, off 168 balls, as India turned the screw in the final session, scoring 178 runs off 38 overs.
Vijay, centurion from the first innings, had moved on to 77.
Pujara was given a reprieve on 51 when Imran Tahir put down a caught and bowled chance, as a first ever Test win against India at the Bullring seemed increasingly unlikely.
South Africa were dealt a cruel blow before lunch when key bowler Morne Morkel injured his ankle. He will not bowl again in the match and only bat in the second innings if absolutely necessary.
South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee later said Morkel would likely be out of action for seven to 10 days, and was, therefore, doubtful for the Boxing Day Test in Durban.
In Morkel’s absence, captain Graeme Smith bowled JP Duminy for 11 overs, and resorted to giving wicketkeeper AB de Villiers an over before tea.
Earlier in the day, Vernon Philander brought up his 100th Test wicket with the scalp of Shikhar Dhawan in the eighth over of India’s second innings.
The 28-year-old also became the fastest South African bowler to 100 wickets, taking just 19 Tests to achieve the feat. Philander pitched the delivery short of a length and Dhawan edged to Jacques Kallis at second slip, as India lost their first wicket with the score on 23.
Kallis took the only other Indian wicket to fall with a ball down the leg side which Murali Vijay edged to De Villiers for 39.
Philander returned figures of 1/53 while Kallis had to settle for 1/51 as the rest of the attack remained wicketless. Imran Tahir battled to find any kind of reasonable length and conceded 55 runs off his 11 overs.
Earlier, South Africa added just 31 runs to their overnight total of 213 for six before being bowled out for 244.
Philander, resuming on 48 overnight, moved to his half-century off the first ball of the day.
Another boundary followed in the same over as South Africa looked to whittle down the deficit.
After racing to 59, Philander was outdone by a probing delivery on offstump from Zaheer Khan which took the edge and was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin at first slip.
The wicket brought to an end an 80-run partnership between Philander and Faf du Plessis (20).
South Africa added just five more runs before Khan had the last say with a yorker to dismiss Morkel.
Khan took 4/88 in his comeback Test. — Sapa
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