India are just two wickets away from whitewashing South Africa 3-0
Image courtesy of: Deepak Malik / SPORTZPICS for BCCI
India tormented South Africa on the third day in Ranchi and are now just two wickets away from securing a huge innings win.
Starting off the day on 9/2, South Africa only added seven runs to their overnight score before captain Faf du Plessis was clean bowled by Umesh Yadav for one run.
Temba Bavuma and Zubayr Hamza made up for the loss of Du Plessis with a 91-run partnership, during which Hamza brought up his fifty, before he was cleaned up by Ravindra Jadeja for 62, which came off 79 balls and included 10 boundaries and a six.
Bavuma went on to score 32 before he was stumped by Wriddhiman Saha off the bowling of debutant Shahbaz Nadeem.
South Africa continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and, despite debutant George Linde’s valiant knock of 37, they were eventually bowled out for 162, which gave India a 335-run lead.
Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Nadeem, Jadeja and Mohammed Shami chipped in with two wickets apiece.
Choosing to enforce the follow on, India got their first breakthrough on the seventh ball as Quinton de Kock was clean bowled by Yadav for five runs.
Shami then took out Hamza, Du Plessis and Bavuma in quick succession to leave the Proteas reeling at 22/4.
To make matters worse, Dean Elgar retired hurt shortly after after being struck on the helmet.
Following Elgar’s departure, the wickets continued to flow, which pushed South Africa closer to the edge of a mammoth defeat.
However, Theunis de Bruyn, who came in as a concussion substitute for Elgar, and Anrich Nortje forged an unbeaten 11-run partnership before bad light brought play to an end for the day.
De Bruyn finished on 30, which came off 42 balls and included four boundaries and a six, while Nortje remained undefeated on five, which came off 12 deliveries and included a boundary.
Shami was the most successful bowler with three wickets, while Yadav took two, and Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin claimed one wicket each.
South Africa ended day three on 132/8 and will continue batting on Tuesday at 09:30 local time or 04:00 GMT.