Jacques Kallis struck a masterful century to boost South Africa’s total on the second day of the deciding third Test against India at Newlands on Monday.
Kallis made 161, his 39th Test hundred, to lift the hosts to 362 all out as India limped to 49-2 in reply at tea.
At just after 4pm local time India were on 83-2, with Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar at the wicket
Talismanic opening batsman Virender Sehwag made only 13 before South Africa captain Graeme Smith dived forward to scoop up a low catch at mid-off after the batsman tried to drive an away-swinger from Dale Steyn.
Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid suffered a few scares before Dravid was run out in bizarre fashion for five.
Gambhir edged a drive off left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe to gully, where Alviro Petersen was unable to hold a difficult diving catch. But AB de Villiers reacted quickly, sliding to stop the ball, quickly getting back to his feet and throwing down the stumps as Dravid attempted a quick single.
India earlier struggled to kill off the South African tail as the last two wickets added 79 runs with Kallis well supported by tail-enders Paul Harris and Tsotsobe.
New-ball collapse
The touring side, seeking their first series win in South Africa, looked set to bowl the hosts out when Shanthakumaran Sreesanth struck twice in his first over with the new ball.
Sreesanth bowled Ashwell Prince for 47 with a magnificent ball that jagged back sharply to hit the left-hander’s off-stump, and the next delivery nipped away to have Mark Boucher caught behind for a golden duck.
Sreesanth added the wicket of Morne Morkel, caught behind for eight edging a wild drive, in a marvellous spell of 3-29 that gave him his third five-wicket haul in his 24th Test.
But the fiery paceman also incurred the umpires’ wrath for his continual verbal sniping at the batsmen.
Zaheer Khan chipped in with the wicket of Steyn, caught behind for a duck, but Kallis found the support he was seeking from Harris and Tsotsobe.
Kallis and Australian Ricky Ponting have scored 39 Test centuries, joint second on the all-time list behind Tendulkar who has 50. — Reuters