IND vs SA, 4th Test Day 3: India lead by 403 runs as bad light stops play

Kohli, Rahane bat long as South Africa face an uphill task to save the Test.

New Delhi: Skipper Virat Kohli and first innings centurion Ajinkya Rahane conjured an unbeaten 133-run partnership after a mini-collapse as India lost four wickets at tea against South Africa on the third day of the fourth Test in New Delhi on Saturday.

Banking on Kohli's 83 and Rahane's 52, India were leading by 403 runs at stumps on day three at Feroz Shah Kotla.

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.

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.

Shikhar Dhawan 21(86) b Morne Morkel https://t.co/yYXmWQ8K21 #INDvSA #cricingif pic.twitter.com/dmwBkaGKOt

— Cricingif (@cricingif) December 5, 2015

Cheteshwar Pujara 28(79) b Imran Tahir https://t.co/6QAvt8p0rQ #INDvSA #cricingif pic.twitter.com/zucPyIJCGn

— Cricingif (@cricingif) December 5, 2015

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.

Cheteshwar Pujara (28), who sustained a bruise in his forearm yesterday and could not field, carried on manfully till lunch session.

Pujara whipped Dane Piedt through midwicket for a boundary even though he faced some difficulty while facing Kyle Abbott before getting a couple of streaky boundaries.

Dhawan (21), however, was more assured against Abbott and twice hit off-drives to collect boundaries but was apparently more cautious against the spinners as he failed to get the scoreboard moving during his 86-ball stay.

The Pujara-Dhawan duo added 45 runs but South Africa again struck in the post-lunch session.

First it was Pujara, who tried to cut one from Tahir that stayed low and knocked his off-stump.

But then it took a beauty from Morkel to get rid of Dhawan. The speedster came from round the wicket and bowled a toe-crushing inswinging yorker that hit the base of leg stump even as the local boy tried bringing his bat down on time.

On Friday, India rode Ajinkya Rahane's cultured century to post a series-high 334 before returning to skittle out South Africa for 121 to take full control of the Test.

Rahane (127) crafted the first century in the low-scoring series over five painstaking hours and also featured in a 98-run eighth-wicket stand, the highest in the series, with Ravichandran Ashwin (56).

Spinner all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (5-30) then orchestrated South Africa's rout in glorious sunshine at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium as the hosts thoroughly dominated the second day's play but did not enforce the follow-on.

India paceman Umesh Yadav dismissed Dean Elgar (17) to draw first blood but it was Jadeja's triple strike soon after the tea break which completely unhinged the visitors.

Temba Bavuma (20) dragged a Jadeja delivery onto his stumps, Hashim Amla (three) fell after his 34-ball ordeal and Faf du Plessis recorded his third duck of the series after playing an outrageous scoop shot.

The India pacers, content playing the second fiddle to their spin colleagues in the series, drove home the advantage with Yadav uprooting JP Duminy's off-stump and Ishant Sharma castling Dane Vilas.

With wickets tumbling at the other end, AB de Villiers waged a lone battle before holing out for 42.

Earlier, India resumed day two on 231-7 and Rahane, on 89 overnight, stitched a third 50-plus partnership in the match with Ashwin before bringing up his fifth Test century with an immaculate straight drive past fast bowler Kyle Abbott.

An industrious batsman in a lineup teeming with flamboyant strokeplayers, the 27-year-old raised his arms and looked skywards in a mixed sense of relief and elation, having failed to go past 15 in the ongoing series.

Celebration followed with Rahane launching off-spinner Dane Piedt over mid-wicket and long on for two sixes in three deliveries.

The number five fell to a soft dismissal, driving Tahir to AB de Villiers at cover to depart after crafting a stellar knock over five hours with the help of four sixes and 11 boundaries.

-"I felt (I should be) spending time in the middle -- taking my time and just playing normal cricket, rather than look to play some attacking cricket,-" Rahane said.

-"It was not easy for shotmaking but it was not difficult (to bat) either.-"

Ashwin, currently the leading wicket-taker in the series, hit Tahir for a six to bring up his sixth Test fifty to prove he was no dud with the bat either.

Abbott dismissed Ashwin and Ishant Sharma in three deliveries to finish with 5-40 but the visitors could not stop India from posting the first 300-plus score in the series.

-"It's a good thing when your lower order is batting well. That partnership was crucial,-" said Rahane.

-"Guys at eight, nine, 10 and eleven -- if they can contribute, the opposition's morale goes down. The partnership with Ashwin was really important.-"